The rapid emerging scientific field of neurotechnology may radically change medical practice. This field connects important advances in our understanding of brain function to a recent surge in the technological possibilities to write to and read from the brain. INTENSE brings together academic researchers, medical doctors and companies and patient organizations with the aim to expand the possibilities of linking digital technology to the nervous system to profoundly improve the lives of patients with blindness, deafness, paralysis and epilepsy. 

This acceleration is not just an opportunity – it is a necessity. The aging of the population and the increase of our life expectancy poses a major societal challenge because it causes more people to contract disorders of the nervous system that require a high level of care. These demographic developments put intense pressure on our healthcare system, because many of these disorders limit the patients’ freedom and impair their participation in society, and they thereby create a large burden on patients, caregivers and our society. Neurotechnology can ameliorate or even eliminate some of the impairments that come with neurological disorders, by helping the patients to regain lost functions and participate in society, while reducing the cost of healthcare. INTENSE will generate disruptive neurotechnology, allowing us to read from and write to the human brain at an unprecedented level. We aim to create new high-bandwidth, wireless interfaces to the human nervous system to partially restore functionality. Furthermore, we brought together the expertise to make these new technologies ready to be tested in patients and for commercial application. The project connects a visionary team of world-renowned experts in neuroscience, technology, medicine, psychology and ethics to major neurotechnology companies and patient organizations. The INTENSE project consists of 8 scientific work packages complemented with a workpackage for valorization. More information about the work packages can be found here.

© Photography by Jizri Lemmert