ABATED
Research type
Research Study
Full title
ABATED - Automated Brain Image Analysis for Timely and Equitable Dementia Diagnosis
IRAS ID
312683
Contact name
Charles Marshall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Mary University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
People are referred to memory clinics when there is a suspicion that they might have dementia. However, there are other causes of memory difficulty, and often it is impossible to know whether someone has dementia when they are first assessed. Doctors refer to this uncertain situation as “mild cognitive disorder” (MCD). Currently, the only way to establish the diagnosis is to follow people over time to see if things get worse. This follow-up is often not available, and so people are discharged without a clear answer.
Timely diagnosis is important. Those without dementia benefit from early reassurance and treatment for other causes of memory difficulty. For those with dementia, diagnosis enables them to plan for the future, understand their symptoms, and access treatments. Early diagnosis will be even more important when there are treatments that could slow or stop dementia from worsening. Current NHS memory clinic pathways would be unable to provide the timely diagnosis required for everyone to benefit from such treatments.
Brain scans are a routine part of memory clinic assessment. Dementia causes shrinking of the brain, but when humans interpret scans, this only provides a clear diagnosis when dementia is quite advanced. We have developed a technology for computerised interpretation of brain scans. This can predict whether somebody with MCD will develop dementia with 92% accuracy.
There is regional variation in dementia diagnosis. East London is very diverse and deprived, with low rates of accurate dementia diagnosis. We will use our technology to interpret the brain scans of people with MCD in East London memory clinics to predict who will develop dementia and who will not.
We will estimate improvements in diagnostic accuracy, fairness and access to treatment that result, as well as the cost-effectiveness of the technology for use in the NHS.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/NW/0136
Date of REC Opinion
8 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion