UNSTRUCTURED
Global healthcare systems need to evolve to ensure optimal, safe, and ethical utilisation of health data and the latest digital technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), to meet the challenges of a global ageing population. Simultaneously, the increasing capabilities of remote measurement technologies and the proliferation of 5G networks demonstrates that digital technologies are now more accessible to a much larger population, offering an opportunity for decentralised democratised health data use that supports individual agency. Given the significant international human and economic cost of cognitive decline and dementia, we propose that a person-centred decentralised health data ecosystem, underpinned by these emerging technologies and opportunities, would reduce burden on cognitive healthcare systems by intervening earlier, accelerate clinical research innovation in dementia, and extend cognitive healthspan. Crucially, we argue for the importance of including the individual, as well as other key stakeholders, in the development, continuing operation, and as a shared beneficiary of any potential accrued value emerging from this ecosystem.