BIFOLD Colloquium 01/2026

From the brain to the clinic—and beyond: Computational neurology as a driver of new AI and translational medicine

Abstract: Neurology has traditionally relied on clinical examinations and diagnostic tests, which are usually limited to clinic visits and short observation periods. However, the advent of new sensor and wearable technologies, as well as digital monitoring and advanced data analytics, is opening up the possibility of fundamentally transforming neurology. These developments allow for a more comprehensive mapping and deeper understanding of neurological diseases and their progression, leading to more accurate diagnoses and enabling personalized, dynamically adapted therapies. For inpatient medicine—such as intensive care or stroke care—this creates new opportunities for predictive diagnostics and time-critical therapy decisions. In the outpatient sector, intelligent algorithms applied to patient-generated health data can support continuous, more objective monitoring and early intervention. The presentation outlines the entire translation path of computational neurology – from basic research on the dynamic principles of neural networks and biologically inspired AI, to the development of clinical applications with data warehouse and wearable technologies, to operationalization, collaboration with industry partners, and spin-offs. Using examples from epilepsy, intensive care, and stroke medicine, it will be shown how theoretical concepts of neurodynamics can be translated into concrete innovations for patient care.

BIO: Christian Meisel studied physics and medicine in Freiburg and Stanford. After completing his residency in neurology at Dresden University Hospital and research stays at the Max Planck Institute for Physics of Complex Systems and the National Institutes of Health, he worked at Harvard Medical School before moving to Berlin in 2020. At Charité and the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Dr. Meisel is Schilling-Professor and Head of the Section for Computational Neurology. His research covers the entire translational pathway – from deciphering fundamental principles of brain dynamics and biologically inspired artificial intelligence to clinical applications for inpatient real-time monitoring, outpatient AI-assisted diagnostics with wearables, and translation into spin-offs.