From Digital Twins to Telemonitoring: eBRAIN-Health Highlights from EBRAINS Summit in Brussels

The consortium delegation, represented by Mina De Bartolo, Veronica Henao Isaza, and Prof. Claudio Babiloni (Sapienza University of Rome), engaged with international researchers, stakeholders, and students showcasing how innovative health technologies are transforming brain health research and clinical practice.

Engaging the Next Generation

The eBRAIN-Health delegation met with Dutch high school students and teachers to discuss Alzheimer's disease and how the project contributes to its diagnosis and treatment. In particular, the team presented the use of The Virtual Brain platform to develop "digital twins" of patients’ brains affected by Alzheimer’s disease. These models built using MRI, EEG, and AI tools, are designed to facilitate earlier diagnosis and to create personalised treatments aimed at normalising brain connectivity and improving memory and cognitive functions.

Dialogue with the EBRAINS Community

The eBRAIN-Health team discussed with EBRAINS members how the project contributes to the broader vision of digital brain research at the intersection of neuroscience, advanced technologies, and high-performance computing. During these exchanges, researchers presented key infrastructure milestones, including: 

• GDPR-compliant data frameworks ensuring secure data sharing across ten European research units.
• Large-scale AI modelling and simulation of thousands of multilevel virtual brains for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia research.
• Open Science contributions, making hundreds of EEG, MEG, and neuroimaging datasets available via EBRAINS.
• The development of platforms for home monitoring and cognitive training of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

International Collaboration and Innovation

Dr. Bing Li, Director of the China Centre of the Leuven Health Technology Centre (LHTC), explored bridging collaborations between Chinese and European scientists and entrepreneurs in the life and health sectors. Dr. Li expressed strong interest in the SmartMe&You-TELEMAIA platform, which uses wearable sensors and serious video games to monitor dementia risk factors from home, and its potential for use in Chinese clinical centres. The eBRAIN-Health team explained that the platform operates on the GARR cloud infrastructure, and is open for collaboration with Chinese hospitals and companies. 

Synergies with the EBRAINS Italy National Node

Representatives from CINECA and the EBRAINS Italy National Node, including Dr. Cristiano Padrin and Prof. Egidio D’Angelo, discussed brain disease treatment, digital twins, and personalised medicine. Particular attention was given to the potential of SmartMe&You-TELEMAIA as a foundation for an expanded EBRAINS digital ecosystem focused on dementia prevention, active ageing, and personalised medicine, leveraging wearable sensors and AI.

The eBRAIN-Health team showcased the scientific validation of wearable-based measurements for dementia risks assessment and cognitive video game performance in patients with cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. These results are based on quantitative EEG measures and machine-learning predictive models developed in the SmartMe&You-TELEMAIA platform.