National Neuroscience Institute (NNI)

The National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) is Singapore's national and regional specialist centre for conditions affecting the brain, spine, nerves, and muscles. Established in 1999 at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), NNI expanded its services to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) in 2001, creating a dual-campus model that enables the institute to serve patients across Singapore's public healthcare clusters — both National Healthcare Group (NHG) and SingHealth.

NNI currently operates across seven hospital sites in Singapore: Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Sengkang General Hospital, and Woodlands Health. This network model means patients in all parts of Singapore can access NNI's neuroscience expertise through their local public hospital.

The institute is staffed by specialist teams from Neurology, Neurosurgery, Neuroradiology, Neurodiagnostic, Neuropathology, and Neuroscience Clinical Laboratories, working together to provide integrated clinical care. NNI is renowned for its expertise in stroke management, Parkinson's disease and movement disorders, epilepsy, dementia, brain tumours, spine surgery, and neuromuscular diseases.

As a national centre, NNI plays a major role in neuroscience research and is home to dedicated research programmes in stroke biology, neurodegeneration, neuro-oncology, and neurogenetics. It is affiliated with Duke-NUS Medical School and is part of the SingHealth cluster's academic medical enterprise.

NNI provides a comprehensive range of neuroscience clinical services covering both neurological and neurosurgical conditions across all age groups.

The Neurology Department manages stroke and cerebrovascular disease, Parkinson's disease and movement disorders (including deep brain stimulation), epilepsy, dementia and memory disorders (including Alzheimer's disease), multiple sclerosis and neuro-immunological conditions, headache and migraine, neuromuscular disorders (including myasthenia gravis, motor neurone disease, and Guillain-Barré syndrome), sleep disorders (including narcolepsy and sleep apnoea), neuro-infectious diseases, and general neurology.

The Neurosurgery Department handles brain tumours (primary and metastatic), pituitary tumours, skull base surgery, spinal surgery (cervical, thoracic, and lumbar), hydrocephalus, cerebrovascular neurosurgery (aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations), epilepsy surgery, functional neurosurgery (deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's and dystonia), and paediatric neurosurgery.

NNI's Neuroradiology Department — the only dedicated neuroradiology department in Singapore — performs diagnostic brain and spine MRI and CT, cerebral angiography, interventional neuroradiology (endovascular coiling of aneurysms, embolisation of AVMs, thrombectomy for stroke), and image-guided brain and spine biopsies. The Neurodiagnostic Laboratory provides EEG, electromyography (EMG), nerve conduction studies, evoked potentials, and polysomnography for neurological diagnosis.

NNI maintains dedicated neuroscience facilities at its two primary campuses — TTSH and SGH — as well as outreach presence at five additional public hospitals across Singapore.

At the TTSH campus, NNI occupies purpose-built neuroscience facilities including the Neurology and Neurosurgery inpatient wards, the Neurology Outpatient Clinics, Neurodiagnostic Laboratory, Neurological Rehabilitation unit, and the NNI Research Centre. The TTSH campus also connects to the Parkinson's Disease Centre and the Epilepsy Programme facilities.

At the SGH campus, NNI provides neurosurgery inpatient care, Neuroradiology (including the interventional neuroradiology suite for endovascular procedures), and outpatient neurology clinics. The SGH Neuroradiology suite is equipped with biplane digital subtraction angiography for both diagnostic and interventional procedures.

Neurodiagnostic capabilities include long-term video EEG monitoring for epilepsy evaluation, intraoperative neuromonitoring for complex spine and brain surgery, and a state-of-the-art neurophysiology laboratory. The NNI Research Centre conducts translational neuroscience research including genetic studies of neurological diseases, stem cell research, and clinical trials of neuroprotective and neuromodulatory therapies. Dedicated neurological rehabilitation programmes are integrated with the physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy departments of the host hospitals.

NNI provides neuroscience specialist services to international patients who travel to Singapore for diagnosis and treatment of complex neurological and neurosurgical conditions. The institute receives patients from Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, Vietnam, and other countries in the region who seek world-class neurology and neurosurgery expertise.

International patients can access NNI services at both the TTSH and SGH campuses, depending on the nature of their condition and treatment required. The international patient liaison teams at TTSH and SGH coordinate appointments with NNI neurology or neurosurgery specialists, manage pre-arrival medical record review, arrange interpreter services in English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil, and assist with Singapore visa documentation for extended treatment stays.

NNI's expertise is particularly sought by international patients with complex stroke, brain tumours, spine conditions requiring surgery, Parkinson's disease requiring deep brain stimulation, epilepsy requiring surgical evaluation, and rare neuromuscular diseases. Telemedicine consultations for pre-visit assessment and post-discharge follow-up are available. International patients can request second opinions from NNI specialists with review of imaging studies, pathology reports, and prior treatment records sent electronically.

The National Neuroscience Institute operates within the accreditation frameworks of both its host clusters — SingHealth and National Healthcare Group — and adheres to the rigorous clinical governance standards of both organisations. The institute's work across both SGH (SingHealth) and TTSH (NHG) campuses is governed by joint clinical oversight committees.

NNI's host hospitals — Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital — each hold Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation, ensuring that NNI's inpatient and outpatient services meet international standards for patient safety and quality. All NNI consultant neurologists and neurosurgeons are registered with the Singapore Medical Council and hold fellowship qualifications from the Academy of Medicine Singapore and international neuroscience bodies.

NNI is the only institute in Singapore with a dedicated Neuroradiology Department, recognised by the Asian Australasian Society of Neurological Surgery and connected to international neuroscience networks. The institute publishes research in leading international neuroscience journals and collaborates with centres in the USA, UK, Europe, and Australia. NNI neurologists and neurosurgeons participate in training programmes accredited by the Singapore Medical Council and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.