The year 2026 is already emerging as a pivotal moment for brain health as the healthcare industry faces a growing crisis. Cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia are rising rapidly while early detection and intervention remain inaccessible for millions of people. The number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias is expected to double over the next few decades, from roughly 7 million today to nearly 14 million by 2060. With longer life spans and increasing evidence that lifestyle interventions could prevent nearly half of all cases, the importance of early detection has never been greater. At the same time, disease-modifying therapies and blood biomarker testing are showing that timely action can significantly improve outcomes, highlighting the need for scalable, clinically practical solutions across healthcare.
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Linus Health, an AI-driven brain health company focused on early identification and proactive care, is working to help health systems, insurers, and life science companies meet this critical challenge. The company uses advanced AI to analyze everyday human behaviors such as drawing, speech, and cognitive processing, enabling earlier detection of subtle cognitive changes and underlying disease processes. This information supports clinical decisions at a stage when interventions can have the most meaningful impact.
Earlier this week Linus Health was recognized with Modern Healthcare’s Best in Business Award in the AI category, highlighting its leadership and innovation in the healthcare technology space. The program honors healthcare suppliers and partners making exceptional contributions to the industry.
“Brain health is among the most urgent challenges in healthcare and life sciences,” said David Bates, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Linus Health. “The industry is beginning to realize that waiting for symptoms to appear is no longer acceptable. During 2025, we saw significant expansion in adoption of our platform by health systems, life science companies, and payers, showing that the sector is ready to move from awareness to proactive action in brain health.”
The momentum around brain health is growing as health systems confront specialist shortages, long diagnostic timelines, and increased demand for cognitive evaluations in primary care. Payers are also increasingly recognizing the value of covering proactive brain health initiatives to improve patient outcomes, quality of life, and cost efficiency. Research continues to show that early identification of cognitive impairment, followed by targeted clinical care and lifestyle interventions, can slow disease progression and preserve daily function for many at-risk individuals.
In response to this growing need, Linus Health has sharpened its strategic focus on enabling earlier identification at scale in healthcare settings while expanding its role in life sciences research. The company’s AI-driven assessments help research sponsors identify suitable candidates for clinical trials more efficiently, reducing the time, cost, and complexity of traditional trial enrollment. In 2025, Linus Health also launched Anywhere powered by Linus Health, a remote, clinically validated cognitive assessment platform that extends early detection beyond clinical settings for healthcare delivery, population health, and research applications. The company continued to advance its person-centered ePSOM tool, a framework designed to measure what patients value most in their daily lives and assess whether interventions preserve meaningful function.
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Linus Health strengthened its evidence base in 2025 with peer-reviewed studies, including two significant publications demonstrating that brief digital cognitive assessments analyzed by AI can detect subtle cognitive changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease earlier than conventional methods. Along with more than 160 other studies, these findings validate the scientific rigor and clinical relevance of the company’s digital tools. The company also presented at conferences, conducted validation studies, and led clinical trials focused on early detection of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, reflecting a sustained commitment to translating research into practical, scalable solutions.
Linus Health increased its national visibility in 2025 through high-profile media interviews. Chief Operating Officer John Showalter, MD, discussed the potential for AI to shorten dementia diagnostic timelines and expand access to care in an interview with Forbes TV. Bates spoke about the growing industry focus on early detection and scalable brain health solutions in interviews with HISTalk and Healthcare IT News. Chief Medical Officer and co-founder Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, discussed rapid cognitive decline in U.S. News & World Report, emphasizing the need for early, comprehensive evaluation. Pascual-Leone also highlighted in National Geographic how hands-on activities like knitting engage dopamine pathways, support neuroplasticity, and may help slow cognitive decline.
In 2025, Linus Health also refined its operating model to meet rising market demand. Leadership roles were adjusted to create focused business units that accelerate innovation, support health systems, expand research partnerships, and strengthen payer relationships. Chief Commercial Officer Curt Thornton assumed the expanded role of President, Connected Care, leading efforts to build a more integrated ecosystem across life sciences, payers, and employers. Chief Customer Officer Leah Ray now serves as President, U.S. Healthcare, overseeing operational growth and scale across health systems.
“Our goal is to scale impact responsibly as the brain health landscape evolves,” said Showalter. “By organizing around focused business units, we are better positioned to support clinicians, advance research partnerships, and deliver solutions that address real-world constraints in healthcare. This approach ensures that our teams are aligned to meet rising demand across healthcare delivery, connected care, and life sciences as brain health becomes a clinical priority.”
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