AI to now help scientists create dementia risk tools by analysing 1.6mn brain scans

In a novel method, the researchers and scientists will use artificial intelligence to examine 1.6 million brain scans and finally create a tool which can predict how much risk of dementia is present in a person.

The data from CT and MRI scans will be analysed by 20 experts with the use of artificial intelligence to discover patterns which can beforehand indicate the chances of a person developing such conditions.

The aim of the researchers is to create a digital tool which will help radiologists scan patients and determine their risk of dementia so that it gets diagnosed at an early stage.

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According to the experts, if a patient group with a high risk of dementia is isolated, it will help in developing more precise treatments for different types of the condition, which includes Alzheimer's.

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The team is filled with data scientists and clinical researchers from the universities ofEdinburghand Dundee. They have been working in a global research collaboration known as NEURii, which was started a year ago.

The scientists have decided to analyse up to 1.6 million images as part of the project. These images have been approved by the Public Benefit and Privacy Panel for Health and Social Care, which is a part of NHS Scotland.

The data will be safely stored in the Scottish National Safe Haven which the Public Health Scotland had commissioned to provide a secure platform for using NHS electronic data.

The project's co-leader Professor Will Whiteley of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences said, "Better use of simple brain scans to predict dementia will lead to a better understanding of dementia and potentially earlier diagnosis of its causes, which in turn will make the development of new treatments easier."

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"Currently treatments for dementia are expensive, scarce and of uncertain value. If we can collect data from a large group of people at high risk, who then give their consent to take part in trials, we can really start to develop new treatments," he added.

Meanwhile, an expert in AI and medical imaging at the University of Dundee, Professor Emanuele Trucco said, "This new data set will be of great use to neurological researchers. Should we establish a successful proof of concept, we will have a suite of software tools that are smoothly and unobtrusively integrated with routine radiology operations that assist clinical decision-making and flag the risk of dementia as early as possible."

(With inputs from agencies)