New Delhi, June 30
In a significant achievement for identifying neurodegenerative diseases early, a team of US researchers has developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that helps clinicians detect brain activity patterns linked to nine types of dementia using a single and widely available scan.
The tool, StateViewer, not only helped in early detection but also provided accurate diagnosis -- it identified the dementia type in 88 per cent of cases, including Alzheimer's disease.
It also enabled clinicians to interpret brain scans nearly twice as fast and with up to three times greater accuracy than standard workflows, according to the research, published online in the journal Neurology.
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic trained and tested the AI on more than 3,600 scans, including images from patients with dementia and people without cognitive impairment.
Currently, diagnosing dementia requires cognitive tests, blood draws, imaging, and clinical interviews, and yet, distinguishing conditions such as Alzheimer's, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia remains a challenge.
"Every patient who walks into my clinic carries a unique story shaped by the brain's complexity," said David Jones, a Mayo Clinic neurologist.