Trial uses AI to rapidly diagnose Alzheimer’s disease

Dennis Clark, a 75-year-old retired sales director, was referred onto the QMIN-MC trial after he began exhibiting signs of Alzheimer’s.

The QMIN-MC trial is using a machine learning algorithm developed by Prof Zoe Kourtzi, research lead at the Alan Turing Institute, which trains itself to diagnose patients by looking at MRI brain scans to identify patterns. It then combines these findings with the results of standard memory tests.

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In a statement, Addenbrooke’s consultant and clinical lead for the trial, Dr Timothy Rittman, said: “Traditionally, when we look at patient scans we are looking for patterns to be able to help us exclude things like strokes and brain tumours. The computer can do this much more comprehensively than any human, helping to give us not only a more accurate diagnosis, but also a prognosis as well. With a better prognosis we can identify how quickly a patient is moving away from the normal pattern of the disease and amend their treatment and care accordingly.”