Computer-aided methods have shown added value for diagnosing and predicting brain disorders and can thus support decision making in clinical care and treatment planning. This chapter will provide insight into the type of methods, their working, their input data –such as cognitive tests, imaging, and genetic data– and the types of output they provide. We will focus on specific use cases for diagnosis, i.e., estimating the current “condition” of the patient, such as early detection and diagnosis of dementia, differential diagnosis of brain tumors, and decision making in stroke. Regarding prediction, i.e., estimation of the future “condition” of the patient, we will zoom in on use cases such as predicting the disease course in multiple sclerosis and predicting patient outcomes after treatment in brain cancer. Furthermore, based on these use cases, we will assess the current state-of-the-art methodology and highlight current efforts on benchmarking of these methods and the importance of open science therein. Finally, we assess the current clinical impact of computer-aided methods and discuss the required next steps to increase clinical impact.

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Due to their sensorimotor disorders, children with cerebral palsy (CP) typically experience poor balance control during standing and walking [1]. Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly used in balance rehabilitation since literature has indicated some promising effects on for instance motivation [2] and functional outcomes [3] in several patient populations. Some preliminary studies have investigated the effect of VR training on balance in children with CP, however, they describe mixed results [4,5]. The contradictory findings could be the result of insufficient power due to small sample size and use of different measures of balance.@en

There is evidence for a beneficial effect of aerobic exercise on cognition, but underlying mechanisms are unclear. In this study, we test the hypothesis that aerobic exercise increases cerebral blood flow (CBF) in patients with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). This study is a multicenter single-blind randomized controlled trial among 80 patients with VCI. Most important inclusion criteria are a diagnosis of VCI with Mini-Mental State Examination ≥22 and Clinical Dementia Rating ≤0.5. Participants are randomized into an aerobic exercise group or a control group. The aerobic exercise program aims to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and takes 14 weeks, with a frequency of three times a week. Participants are provided with a bicycle ergometer at home. The control group receives two information meetings. Primary outcome measure is change in CBF. We expect this study to provide insight into the potential mechanism by which aerobic exercise improves hemodynamic status.

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