Neuroscientists and a startup are joining forces to bring fitness tracking to the brain, marking a significant shift in consumer health monitoring. This collaboration between researchers at Imperial College London and Connectome Health, a startup co-founded by Dr. Rufus Mitchell-Heggs, aims to revolutionize how we understand and care for our brain health. With a focus on making routine brain health monitoring accessible, the partnership leverages cutting-edge lab methods, such as neuroimaging and functional analysis, to create a comprehensive platform for consumers.
Dr. Mitchell-Heggs, who completed his PhD in Imperial's Department of Bioengineering, explains the motivation behind this project: "We aim to make routine brain health a reality, taking the latest methods from the lab and marrying them together in one platform that we can then market to different consumers."
The core of this initiative is a system that analyzes oxygen levels in the prefrontal cortex, the brain region responsible for problem-solving, planning, and emotional management. By integrating these measurements with data from fitness trackers, the startup is building a knowledge base to guide lifestyle choices that enhance brain function.
Connectome Health, founded in 2024, has already secured $2 million in pre-seed investment and is set to launch its consumer platform in July. One of its initial projects involves working with Italian football club Como 1907 to measure brain oxygenation during pre-season training and injury assessments. This practical application of brain health monitoring is a significant step forward.
Dr. Mitchell-Heggs' PhD research, supervised by Professor Simon Schultz and Professor Richard Morris, focused on analyzing different brain states over time, both in healthy and diseased conditions. This foundational work sparked the idea of translating these insights into real-world applications in functional neuroscience.
The chosen technique, time-domain functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), involves sending light pulses through the skull to measure oxygen levels in the brain. Dr. Mitchell-Heggs highlights the technique's accessibility: "There are some amazing techniques that are incredibly informative about the brain, but they are not very intuitive for the consumer. This is an easily explainable measurement that we can share with people."
To further develop the system, Dr. Mitchell-Heggs collaborated with Professor Schultz to establish a baseline in healthy individuals. A study involving 100 volunteers aged 18 to 55, who underwent cognitive flexibility and memory tests while sharing wearable health device data, provided valuable insights into how lifestyle factors impact brain health.
The study, funded by a UKRI grant, concluded in June and has been released as a pre-print paper. The next phase involves collecting similar data from individuals with other conditions, starting with those with untreated ADHD. This data will be crucial for understanding the broader implications of brain health monitoring.
Professor Schultz emphasizes the scalability of fNIRS, which provides valuable brain information at a lower cost and with less time and clinic visits compared to fMRI. This scalability enables more frequent scans per person and broader coverage, making it a practical tool for widespread use.
As the data accumulates, AI-enabled analysis will play a pivotal role in understanding the relationship between brain measurements and other health and lifestyle indicators. Dr. Mitchell-Heggs envisions a "virtuous circle" where increased data collection enhances the insights gained from each individual.
This collaboration between neuroscience research and startup innovation is a testament to the potential of translating complex scientific findings into practical applications. By making brain health monitoring more accessible and understandable, Connectome Health is paving the way for a new era of consumer wellness, where individuals can take proactive steps to optimize their brain function.
