Digital Therapeutics Empowering Diagnosis and Treatment of Brain and Nervous System Disorders: Insights from Experts

Currently, the clinical management of many psychiatric and neurological disorders still relies primarily on pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy; however, these conventional approaches are limited by low efficacy and poor patient adherence. Although favorable prognoses can be achieved through cognitive-behavioral training, the lack of appropriate therapeutic tools remains a significant challenge.

The emergence of digital therapeutics has revealed the potential to transform traditional treatment modalities. Digital therapeutics, a novel therapeutic approach grounded in evidence-based medicine and digital technologies for treating diseases or improving health, is being actively applied to various mental disorders, including substance use disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), insomnia, panic attacks, anxiety, and depression.

So, how exactly do digital therapeutics work in the treatment of mental and neurological disorders? And how can emerging digital therapeutics rapidly reach households everywhere?On May 18, 2022, the “FOCUS 2022 Digital Therapeutics Online Salon – Innovative Exploration of Digital Therapeutics Empowering the Diagnosis and Treatment of Neurological Disorders,” hosted by SDODT and organized by VCBeat, was held online.

At the meetingDr. Feng Shang, Neurobiology ExpertandLu Gelan, Chief Physician and Expert in Pediatric Clinical MedicineDeliver keynote speeches on “Therapeutic Mechanisms and Development Trends of Digital Therapeutics for Mental Disorders (Using ADHD as an Example)” and “Advantages and Latest Advances in Digital Pharmaceuticals for ADHD.”

The "Air Roundtable" session has invitedJiang Kewen, Chief Physician and Doctoral Supervisor in the Department of Child Psychology at the Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Yeh Shih-ching, Visiting Researcher at Fudan University and Professor at National Central University in Taiwan; Yang Leigang, General Manager of the Whole-Course Management and Digital Therapeutics Center at Weimai; Dr. Zhang Yifei, Brain Neuroimaging Expert at SDODT; Chen Peng, Senior Researcher and Senior Editor at VCBeat VBInsight; and Ying Shuchang, Executive Director of Shengqu Capital, to discuss “Digital Therapeutics in Rehabilitation and the Digitalization of Vertical Disease Areas.”

Understanding a therapy begins with its underlying principles.Feng Shang, a neurobiology expert at SDODT, stated, the essence of digital therapeutics for mental disorders lies in human-computer interaction programs based on digital devices, which stimulate patients' inherent neuroplasticity and alter neural network connectivity within the brain, thereby achieving therapeutic effects. Such interactions can be facilitated through visual and auditory tasks, as well as cognitive tasks involving reasoning, calculation, and memory.

Feng Shang, Neurobiology Expert at SDODT

Video games are currently relatively mature audiovisual human-computer interaction programs that can have significant effects on both the psychological and physiological aspects of humans. Therefore, understanding how video games affect the human brain is helpful for the underlying design of digital therapeutics. A qualified digital therapeutic product should meet requirements such as effectiveness, controllability, patient-friendliness, universality, simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and scalability.

In specific disease areas, taking ADHD as an example, the overall prevalence of ADHD among children and adolescents in China is as high as 6%, with more than 23 million children and adolescents currently affected. ADHD is one of the most common childhood psychiatric and behavioral disorders, characterized by age-inappropriate difficulties in sustaining attention, hyperactivity, and emotional and behavioral abnormalities. Since the precise neural substrates and etiology of ADHD have not yet been clearly identified, treatment is currently limited to addressing specific cognitive impairment symptoms.

Traditional pharmacotherapy, on the one hand, often involves central nervous system stimulants or inhibitors, which can readily cause side effects of varying severity—such as fever, insomnia, blood pressure fluctuations, abdominal pain, and allergic reactions—leading to low acceptance among parents. On the other hand, although medications act rapidly, patient adherence is poor; many ADHD drugs require continuous administration for more than six months, making long-term compliance difficult for children. Furthermore, non-pharmacological interventions for ADHD currently demonstrate low efficacy, underscoring an urgent need for more effective therapeutic approaches.

Lu Gelan, a pediatric clinical medicine expert at SDODT, stated, digital therapeutics for ADHD have no age restrictions, no significant side effects, and better compliance. In traditional treatment, children under 6 years old are not recommended for medication due to incomplete brain development, and behavioral assistance therapy is generally used, but the results are often unsatisfactory. Digital therapeutics are also applicable to children under 6 years old, providing more treatment options for families of ADHD patients.

Lu Gelan, Clinical Pediatrics Expert at SDODT

Compared with pharmaceuticals, digital therapeutics have no significant side effects, except in cases where treatment cannot be completed due to cognitive impairments or sensory deficits such as visual or auditory dysfunction. Digital therapeutics enable efficient and accurate data recording of patient behaviors, thereby assisting physicians in the efficient diagnosis of a range of pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD.

Furthermore, statistics indicate that only 30% of parents demonstrate long-term adherence to pharmacological treatments. In contrast, SDODT’s digital therapeutics, developed in collaboration with the Legend Innovation Research Center at Zhejiang University, utilize action-based games as a medium. Through its unique digitally constructed interactive approach, this solution enhances children’s attention and memory, while overcoming temporal and spatial constraints to boost patient engagement and adherence, thereby improving therapeutic outcomes.

SDODT ADHD Digital Therapeutic Product—“Attention Enhancement Training Software System”

Specifically, SDODT’s digital therapeutic product for ADHD, the “Attention Enhancement Training Software System,” follows a one-month intervention cycle. Users are required to log in five days per week and complete 25-minute level-based training sessions per visit. Throughout the intervention, user training performance is monitored and tracked in real time via the backend. The intervention plan is dynamically adjusted based on individual progress and intensity to maximize therapeutic efficacy while minimizing the risk of addiction.

SDODT is currently conducting phased clinical trials at the National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Diseases, as well as at the Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. After completing one course of treatment, pediatric patients have shown improvements across various clinical indicators. It is reported that SDODT is actively pursuing the registration and application processes for its digital therapeutics with the relevant national authorities.

In fact, there are many more applications of digital therapeutics in the treatment of neurological disorders, and there is still room for improvement in treatment modalities. In addition to ADHD intervention, they can also be used for insomnia, autism spectrum disorder, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and other conditions. Given that neurological disorders are often accompanied by comorbidities, future approaches may consider combined treatments for comorbid conditions.

Digital therapeutics for mental and neurological disorders will see increasingly widespread application in the future. In this process, how to truly achieve universal adoption of digital therapeutics and drive market-wide utilization remains a challenge facing the entire industry.

Zhang Yifei, an expert in intelligent brain neuroimaging at SDODT, statedPortability is the most critical element for achieving the universal adoption of digital therapeutics. For instance, SDODT has launched a portable single-channel sleep EEG device that enables monitoring simply by being attached to the forehead, thereby overcoming the limitations of in-hospital monitoring. Additionally, a recent study from Washington University in St. Louis indicates that sleep monitoring data may serve as a digital biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Consequently, portable devices can be utilized for early screening or intervention of such diseases from the perspective of comorbidities. Expert consensus also points out that computer-assisted digital cognitive training can serve as a beneficial non-pharmacological adjunct for mild cognitive impairment.

Jiang Kewen, Chief Physician and Doctoral Supervisor in the Department of Child Psychology at the Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, believesThe widespread adoption of digital therapeutics must overcome two major hurdles: adherence and side effects. Taking digital therapeutics for ADHD as an example, it is essential not only to ensure adherence among pediatric patients but also to maintain parental adherence, while mitigating the risk of addiction to game-based digital therapeutic interventions. Furthermore, a key intervention setting for ADHD patients is outside clinical institutions. If digital therapeutics can enable comprehensive functional assessments across various environments—such as home and school—thereby breaking the spatial constraints of in-hospital care, this capability will serve as a critical foundation for their expansion into broader markets.

According to Yeh Shih-Ching, a Visiting Researcher at Fudan University and Professor at National Central University in Taiwan,The greatest significance of digital therapeutics lies not in isolated technological breakthroughs, but in their widespread adoption across households to achieve universal accessibility. Whether for Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorder, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), digital therapeutics enable patients to undergo extensive interventions and training at home. However, realizing this potential requires a systemic approach: collaborating with healthcare teams to facilitate remote monitoring, making devices more integrated and portable, and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to ensure seamless data interoperability. Only by guiding patients to adhere consistently to digital therapeutic regimens can truly revolutionary outcomes and transformations be achieved.

Yang Leigang, General Manager of the Whole-Course Disease Management and Digital Therapeutics Center at WeimaiIt is recommended to return to the essence of digital therapeutics (DTx) for consideration. First, the essence of DTx lies in disease intervention or improving health outcomes; it serves as a powerful complement to, rather than a replacement for, existing diagnostic and treatment protocols. Only by integrating and embedding DTx into mainstream clinical pathways can it be widely accepted while ensuring efficacy, thereby increasing its penetration rate. Second, corresponding approval and regulatory policies must be introduced to establish a unified standard framework for DTx; otherwise, DTx risks remaining merely conceptual and formalistic, failing to realize its maximum value. Finally, economic factors must be taken into account. If the intervention costs of DTx are not controlled and exceed current medical expenditure levels, becoming a financial burden on households, it will be difficult to gain patient acceptance and market recognition.

Chen Peng, Senior Researcher at VCBeat Eggshell Institute and Senior Editor at VCBeat, addedTo achieve widespread adoption of digital therapeutics, it is not only necessary to reach expert consensus but also to incorporate digital therapeutics into clinical guidelines. This will guide primary care physicians in their application of digital therapeutics and maximize their benefits. Such progress relies on the joint efforts of medical experts, digital therapeutics companies, and other industry partners.

Regardless, the first step toward achieving widespread adoption and realizing the value of digital therapeutics is to ensure that R&D personnel possess not only professional development skills but also a solid foundation in medical theory. Only after fully understanding the entire sequence of pathological mechanisms, diagnosis, rehabilitation, and treatment procedures can they develop innovative digital drugs that are highly efficient, convenient, and universally applicable.

Overall, there is a consensus that the future of digital therapeutics will be characterized by multimodal and multidisciplinary integration. Medical technologies will advance, and treatment paradigms will evolve. While we cannot make precise predictions, the disruption of traditional treatment models by digital therapeutics has already begun; the future will belong to those who are prepared.