On 2 November 2016 the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) signed a memorandum of understanding with McLaren Applied Technologies to jointly explore how predictive analytics more commonly associated with advanced motorsports could be used to help improve patient care.

Areas of application and collaboration that may be jointly explored include helping clinicians to better monitor, analyse and treat patients for neurological conditions such as head injuries, neurotrauma and hydrocephalus.

Dr Jai Rao, Consultant, Department of Neurosurgery, NNI, said: "This cross-industry collaboration will help us harness valuable clinical and patient data for deeper analysis into neurological diseases. Just as McLaren's race team optimises its cars' performance with data and analytics, NNI clinicians hope to do the same for our patients to improve their quality of life."

An example of a potential clinical application is the use of technology that captures data on patients' precise movements, which allow clinicians and engineers to make detailed interpretation and analysis of patients' gait, physical and physiological characteristics, in relation to their conditions. This would allow for pre-emptive treatment strategies to be devised for individualised patient care.