Computer aided diagnosis for dementia

The University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and Royal Philips Electronics have developed a computer aided diagnosis (CAD) system to support clinicians in early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease.

The new diagnostic technique has already proven its accuracy using historical image data and known patient outcomes, and is about to undergo clinical evaluation at UKE.

The CAD system is a software package that automatically interprets Positron Emission Tomography (PET) brain scans of patients suspected of having a neurodegenerative disease that leads to dementia, and combines them with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans for accurate differential diagnosis.

The development of such a system could mean a better quality of life for patients by enabling earlier prescription of drugs that delay progression of the disease.

It will also provide pharmaceutical companies and clinicians with a valuable tool for the development and testing of new, potentially curative drugs for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

As the demographics of world populations increasingly shift towards older age groups, dementia is widely expected to reach epidemic proportions unless effective treatments are found for it.