Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: "Memory enhancement with personalized digital therapeutics will become widespread in the coming years!"

Üsküdar University is in Johannesburg for the 12th G20 / N20 (Neuroscience) Summit!

Üsküdar University participated in the 12th G20 / N20 (Neuroscience) Annual Scientific Summit held in Johannesburg, where decisive studies in the fields of neuroscience, mental health, and neurotechnology on a global scale were discussed. 

Highlighting the importance of big data-driven artificial intelligence applications in healthcare and noting that one of the greatest contributions of artificial intelligence is "digital therapeutics," Üsküdar University Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, "Personalized digital therapeutics such as memory enhancement and attention training will become widespread in the coming years. This will be a significant contribution of neuroscience to neuropsychiatry." 

Üsküdar University participated in the 12th G20 / N20 (Neuroscience) Annual Scientific Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, where groundbreaking studies in neuroscience, mental health, and neurotechnology were discussed on a global scale. 

Bringing together the world's leading scientists, engineers, physicians, and entrepreneurs, the summit aims to develop rapid clinical solutions for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders and to strengthen neurotechnology initiatives in G20 countries.

It is organized by the Brain Mapping and Therapeutic Sciences Association.

N20 aims to contribute to former US President Barack Obama's BRAIN Initiative and expand activities related to current and future projects across G20 countries. 

Neuroscience20 aims to support Obama's Brain Initiative through its annual summit, while also establishing a global Neurotechnology Innovation consortium to accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of neurological, psychiatric, and spinal disorders.

The Neuroscience20 organization, run by the Brain Mapping and Therapeutic Sciences Association, is continuing its efforts to establish a global Brain Initiatives consortium to form a united front to combat various devastating neuropsychiatric disorders worldwide.

The 12th annual summit will cover brain mapping and therapeutics, neurotechnology innovations, investments, neuropsychiatric disorders, PTSD, artificial intelligence, mental health disorders, neurosurgery (vascular), neuroimaging, neuro-oncology, opioid addiction (pandemic), suicide prevention, epilepsy, spine, neurological infections, regulatory issues, MS, ALS and Parkinson's, and other neurodegenerative diseases, TBI, and spinal cord injuries.

Üsküdar University was the only university from Turkey to participate in the summit!

Üsküdar University, the only university from Turkey participating in the summit, has played a pioneering role in establishing Global Brain Initiatives over the past 15 years within the scope of the SBMT collaboration, thanks to its strong academic background in mental health, neuroscience, and engineering.

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Üsküdar University, delivered the opening speech at the summit and shared information about the neuroscience studies conducted at the university, the NP model, and the Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) Database. 

Prof. Dr. Tarhan drew attention to big data-driven artificial intelligence applications in the field of health.

Highlighting the importance of big data-driven artificial intelligence applications in healthcare, Prof. Tarhan noted that recalled that the 2024 Nobel Prize for fundamental discoveries and inventions enabling artificial neural networks and machine learning was awarded not to physicists, but to geneticist Hatfield and cognitive psychologist Hinton, stating that findings combining genetic codes with the functioning of artificial neural networks form the basis of artificial intelligence. 

Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that one of the greatest contributions of artificial intelligence is "digital therapeutics," adding, "We are developing personalized digital games and software. The person uses artificial intelligence to treat themselves and overcome their fears. Applications such as memory enhancement and attention training with personalized digital therapeutics will become widespread in the coming years. This will be an important contribution of neuroscience to neuropsychiatry." 

Speaking in the second session held in the afternoon, Prof. Dr. Tarhan shared the establishment and development process of the ME+ initiative, the collaborations carried out with SBMT, and the successes achieved by the university in the context of internationalization. Prof. Dr. Tarhan emphasized that the studies conducted with the contributions of multidisciplinary and multinational researchers can produce a strong academic and social impact on a global scale.

Prof. Dr. Ergüzel discussed his work in the fields of artificial intelligence in healthcare, entrepreneurship, and neuroscience

Speaking at the same session, Üsküdar University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Türker Tekin Ergüzel evaluated his work in the fields of artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and neuroscience in healthcare. 

Noting that young researchers have high entrepreneurial motivation, Prof. Dr. Ergüzel stated that structural transformations in this field need to be planned. 

Prof. Dr. Ergüzel stated that AI-focused healthcare initiatives increase the accuracy of clinical decision support systems with big data analytics, machine learning, and natural language processing techniques, strengthen cost-efficiency, and produce innovative solutions in drug development, treatment, and clinical workflows. Prof. Dr. Ergüzel pointed out that elements such as regulatory compliance, data security, ethical use, and sustainable business models are critical for the success of these ventures.

Prof. Dr. Ergüzel emphasized that public-private partnerships, early-stage funding mechanisms, and pilot applications accelerate the scaling of AI-based health innovations.

What does the transformation entail?

Prof. Türker Ergüzel outlined the priorities of the transformation in short-, medium-, and long-term plans. In the short term (1–3 years), these include AI therapist assistants, AI triage and risk screening tools, AI speech-based mental health assistants, and wearable devices with AI mental health analytics. in the medium term (3–7 years), AI for drug response prediction, early-stage school-based AI mental health systems, and workplace mental health intelligence systems; and in the long term (7–15 years), AI + BCI for drug-free treatment of mood disorders, real-time brain state decoding for emotional regulation, and AI-assisted closed-loop neuromodulation.

The use of artificial intelligence in healthcare increases diagnostic accuracy

Referring to studies conducted specifically at NPİSTANBUL Hospital and drawing attention to the financial parameters of the process, Board Member Fırat Tarhan stated that the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare increases diagnostic accuracy, personalizes treatment processes, and improves efficiency in healthcare services. 

Fırat Tarhan emphasized that for these technologies to be adopted safely and effectively, economic policies must be designed holistically to include data infrastructure investments, regulatory frameworks, public-private partnership models, and cost-effectiveness analyses.

Thousands of deaths can be prevented with artificial intelligence applications

Pointing to the economic impact of artificial intelligence investments with numerical data from studies in the literature, Fırat Tarhan stated that, according to the study "The Potential Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Health Care Spending," he stated that widespread adoption of artificial intelligence in the US could lead to a 5–10% reduction in healthcare spending, which would correspond to savings of USD 200–360 billion as of 2019. 

Approximately 400,000 deaths could be prevented annually!

Citing a report from Europe that predicted that approximately 400,000 deaths could be prevented annually with artificial intelligence applications, Fırat Tarhan pointed out that, according to findings in the literature, two critical points should be considered when formulating economic policy for artificial intelligence in healthcare: "Artificial intelligence has high potential savings capacity; but investment costs, the implementation process, and gaps in effectiveness data complicate policy decisions."

The agreement text was signed to be shared with policy-making leaders

On the final day of the N20 summit, delegations from African, Middle Eastern, Balkan, North American, Latin American, Australasian, and European countries signed the neurotechnology initiative agreement below to be shared with policy-making leaders.