Cracking the Brain’s Black Box: The Rise of Real-Time Neuromonitoring

A growing wave of new medical devices are helping to pull back the curtain on the human brain through neuromonitoring-the use of electroencephalography (EEG) and other real-time neurophysiological signals to record and analyze neural activity. Starting with the development of EEG in the 1930s, neuromonitoring evolved first into a behind-the-scenes scientific research and medical diagnostic tool. Neuromonitoring moved into the operating room starting in the late 1970s to help protect neural functions during delicate surgeries and now is expanding to use artificial intelligence algorithms as a digital "co-pilot" to help spot potential issues faster. With the advent of smaller and less expensive neuromonitoring tools, the process is moving into other clinical areas, including intensive care units and emergency departments. Companies like Ceribell and NeuroBell are alerting clinicians to "silent" seizures that might otherwise cause lasting brain damage, while other start-ups such as Kernel are developing research tools that may help guide treatments for depression and addiction.