Up to 1 billion people, nearly one in six of the world’s population, suffer from neurological disorders, from Alzheimer and Parkinson disease, strokes, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy to migraine, brain injuries and neuroinfections, with some 6.8 million dying of the diseases each year, according to a new United Nations report.
The UN World Health Organization study – Neurological disorders: Public health challenges – shows that people in all countries, irrespective of age, sex, education or income are affected, that the economic cost of such diseases in Europe reached some €139 billion in 2004 and it continues to grow every year, while access to appropriate care is lacking in many parts of the world.
Health systems need to be strengthened to deliver better care for people with neurological disorders. Neurological care must be integrated into primary health care since for many people, primary care is the only access to medical treatment that they have and doctors can use low-technology interventions.
Reasons for non-availability of care include inadequate health delivery systems, lack of trained personnel, and absence of essential drugs.
As the global population ages, the impact of neurological disorders will be felt both in developed and developing countries, reaching a significant proportion in countries with a growing percentage of the population over 65 years.
Unprecedented innovation in technology is rapidly revolutionizing human life when it comes to healthcare and have the potential to vastly accelerate clinical development, and in turn advance how we prevent, diagnose early, monitor and potentially even cure severe diseases.
People with neurological conditions each have their own individual journey. What works for one patient, does not necessarily work for all. In these types of neurological conditions, many influences come into play beyond the visible symptoms. A patient’s mood, their sleep patterns, even their diet, can influence their symptoms and their overall condition, and can make a positive contribution towards their quality of life.
Our technology was developed to provide better care and, above all, to prevent and detect neurological diseases at an early stage. Nocturne expects that its optical coherence-based retinal image analysis will allow neurologists short-term diagnostic decisions, which will reduce the need for external costly MRIs. Ultimate goal is to offer specialized screening analysis for early detection of neurological disorders, that is fast and affordable even in developing countries.
