Patient-facing treatments for disease

In rare cases, healthcare analytics comprise medical technologies that are used to actually treat diseases, not just perform research on them. An example of this is neuroprosthetics. Neuroprosthetics can be defined as the enhancement of nervous system function using man-made devices. Neuroprosthetics research has enabled patients with disabilities such as blindness or paraplegia to recover some of their lost function. For example, a paralyzed patient may be able to move a computer cursor on a screen not with their hand, but by using their brain signals! In this specific application, recordings of the electrical activity of specific neurons are obtained, and a machine learning model is used to determine in which direction the cursor should move given the firing of the neurons. Similar analytics can be used for visual impairments, or for visualizing what a human is seeing. A second example includes implanting devices in the body that detect seizures before they occur and proactively administer preventive medication. Certainly, the sky is the limit for analytic-driven treatments.