Neurotechnology has been gaining strong interest worldwide in recent years. It encompasses all technologies developed to understand the brain, visualise its processes and even control, repair and improve its functions—through a direct connection of electronics with the human nervous system. Globally, many countries have initiated national programmes to ramp up the research and development vigour in this field. Alongside technological advancements in the digital age, recent innovations in neurotechnology have also seen a good number of technological breakthroughs with applications across various industries.

Over the last decade, more than 64,000 neurotechnology-related inventions were published worldwide, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%. The large volume of innovation output suggests that some areas are better explored and tightly ring-fenced by the leading players. For a higher return on investment, further research needs to focus on emerging areas and specific technology niches.