Affidea neuraCare: Scaling Integrated Neurology Excellence across Europe

Affidea’s neuraCare Centre of Excellence in Athens brings advanced diagnostics, world-class physicians, targeted therapies, digital monitoring and embedded clinical trials into one coordinated pathway. Built on shared standards, strong governance and patient-centred design, the model aims to cut time to diagnosis, improve consistency and widen access to innovation. The network will scale across Europe through replicable pathways, interoperable data and ready-to-activate research capability.

Key Points

• The pathway integrates prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.
• Advanced imaging includes 3T MRI, PET/CT and SPECT/CT on one site.
• Subspecialist clinics use unified protocols with MDT review.
• Clinical trials are embedded, with real-world data captured.
• Governance supports a scalable European model with outcome metrics.

Neurological conditions are rising across Europe and placing real strain on people and systems alike. Patients often face long waits, fragmented pathways and the stress of navigating multiple providers. Affidea’s new neuraCare Centre of Excellence in Athens offers a different route: one place where advanced diagnostics, specialist clinics, targeted therapies, digital follow-up and access to clinical research come together in a single, coordinated journey. The aim is straightforward—quicker answers, more consistent care and a better experience for patients and families, with clearer lines of sight for referrers and payers.

Why This Model, and Why Now

Many neurology services still work in silos. A person might see several teams in different locations, repeat tests and wait months for definitive imaging or a subspecialist opinion. Conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and complex headache disorders need careful assessment and joined-up management that evolves over time. NeuraCare’s answer is a network of Centres of Excellence that bring subspecialist expertise, advanced diagnostics and research into a single, well-governed pathway. The standards are shared across sites so care feels consistent, but services remain close to home.

Athens as the Flagship

The Athens centre sets the pattern for what follows. Purpose-designed over two floors, it provides the full arc of care—from prevention and screening through diagnosis, treatment, digital monitoring and research participation. The service spans neurological consultations, digital cognitive assessments and a complete laboratory, supported by a comprehensive imaging suite featuring 3T MRI, PET/CT and SPECT/ CT. Neuropsychology, neurological botox and therapy reviews are part of the treatment options,, reducing the need for multiple visits to different sites. Telehealth follow-ups and structured remote monitoring help teams keep in touch between appointments, bringing people back in promptly when needed. The centre also serves as a research hub, so eligible patients can be offered appropriate trials within the same pathway.

A Pathway That Starts Early

The pathway begins before symptoms peak. Awareness, prevention and risk assessment sit alongside genetics and lifestyle counselling where appropriate. Neurocognitive and neuropsychological testing builds a baseline. From there, sensible sequencing across neurophysiology and cardiac testing where indicated, ultrasound and advanced imaging helps clinicians reach a diagnosis earlier and with more confidence. Laboratory work and, when needed, lumbar puncture complete the picture. Multidisciplinary meetings review complex cases and agree a personalised plan with clear follow-up points. The result is a journey that is easier to understand, quicker to navigate and simpler to measure.

Technology That Serves Decisions

Technology supports the clinical judgement rather than replacing it. High-performance imaging is run under standardised protocols. Data governance is built in, with structured capture and harmonised reporting so teams can benchmark, learn and improve. The priority is to turn information into timely decisions: faster detection, better selection of therapy and well-timed adjustments over the long term.

Research as Part of Care

Clinical research is embedded, not bolted on. The Centre of Excellence is set up to run regulated trials with dedicated staff and clear processes for consent, safety and data quality. That makes study start-up faster and patient experience simpler. It also means more people can access innovation early, particularly important in central nervous system conditions where the pipeline is evolving quickly. Evidence generated in practice can be fed back into the pathway, helping teams refine what they do.

Governance, Standards and Measurement

A shared governance framework keeps the model coherent as it grows. Subspecialty leaders oversee imaging, neurology and nuclear medicine; complex cases are discussed in MDTs; and peer review supports consistency. Pathway design, imaging protocols, reporting and therapy choices are standardised and auditable. In practice, this makes quality visible. Time to diagnosis, time to treatment, patient-reported experience and safety indicators can be monitored and acted on. For commissioners and payers, it provides confidence that faster access and broader reach go hand in hand with robust oversight.

People, Skills and Teams

Centres of Excellence are also centres for learning. Clinicians can combine high-quality care with research and education, take on protocol leadership and contribute to multi-centre studies. Shared standards and peer networks support good practice and reduce unwarranted variation. From a management point of view, engaged teams are easier to retain, services are more resilient and patients benefit from continuity.

Designed Around Patients and Families

Experience is more than a nice-to-have in neurology. The Athens layout favours calm spaces and clear wayfinding. Operationally, the single-journey design reduces multiple separate appointments and long gaps between steps. Education, counselling and support groups are part of the offer, and digital tools provide a safety net between visits. Families and caregivers get predictable schedules and clear information, while joined-up records pull assessments, imaging and lab results into one coherent view for personalised care over time.

Policy Context and National Signalling

At the inauguration, Greece’s Minister of Health, Adonis Georgiadis, framed the centre as both a vote of confidence in the health system and a prompt for further innovation. He underlined that pioneering services in neurology bring hope to patients and can lift standards through healthy competition. The message is clear: integrated, high-quality models that invest in capability are aligned with national priorities and can help move the system forward.

Growing the Network Across Europe

The plan is to expand neuraCare to major European cities, keeping the same standards while adapting to local referral patterns, funding and workforce reality. Regional satellites and digital clinics can extend reach without losing pathway fidelity. The architecture is built for replication: shared governance, reusable training, interoperable data and consistent measurement. For systems, it offers scale without starting from scratch. For patients, it brings specialist care closer to home.

What Success Looks Like

Early success will be visible in the rhythm of the pathway: faster triage, shorter time to diagnosis, and treatments started at the right moment for the right patient. Patient-reported experience should reflect a smoother journey and better clinical outcomes. Safety signals must stay strong and prompt quick review when needed. The research portfolio should deepen as more eligible patients are offered trials, with lessons applied back into everyday care.

There are qualitative markers too: active MDTs, confident referrers, families who feel informed and supported, and stable teams as the model grows. As more centres open, the real test will be consistency across sites while allowing for local nuance. That is where shared governance and steady measurement make the difference.

A Scalable Blueprint

NeuraCare is intended as a blueprint rather than a single flagship. By uniting advanced diagnostics, specialist expertise, therapies and trials under one roof – and extending that roof through digital and satellite models – the approach aims to deliver earlier diagnosis, more consistent treatment and well-coordinated follow-up at scale. If it holds course, patients will find neurology care that is faster and clearer, clinicians a setting that supports excellence, and systems a model that balances access, quality and value.

Conflict of Interest

Spotlight articles are the sole opinion of the author(s), and they are part of the HealthManagement.org Corporate Engagement or Educational Community Programme.