US researchers have developed a new AI tool to detect nine types of dementia from a single, common brain scan.
The AI analyses brain activity patterns linked to different dementias.
This tool helps clinicians identify neurodegenerative diseases early and accurately.
The tool, State Viewer, helped detect dementia early and diagnosed it correctly in 88% of cases.
It identified Alzheimer’s disease and eight other dementia types accurately.
Clinicians interpreted brain scans nearly twice as fast using State Viewer.
The tool improved accuracy up to three times compared to standard methods, the study in Neurology reports.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic trained the AI using over 3,600 brain scans from patients with and without dementia.
Right now, diagnosing dementia needs many tests, like cognitive exams, blood tests, scans, and interviews.
Still, doctors often find it hard to tell apart diseases like Alzheimer’s, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia.
A Mayo Clinic neurologist, David Jones, said, “Every patient who walks into my clinic carries a unique story shaped by the brain’s complexity.”
Director of the Mayo Clinic Neurology Artificial Intelligence Programme, Jones said, “State Viewer reflects that commitment — a step toward earlier understanding, more precise treatment, and, one day, changing the course of these diseases.”
Analyses FDG-PET scans
The tool analyses FDG-PET scans that reveal how the brain uses glucose for energy.
It compares each scan to a large database of confirmed dementia cases.
The AI finds patterns in the scan that match specific dementia types or their combinations.
This process helps doctors identify the exact form of dementia in a patient.
Alzheimer’s affects memory and processing parts of the brain.
Lewy body dementia impacts attention and movement areas.
Frontotemporal dementia changes regions linked to language and behaviour.
StateViewer shows these patterns on color-coded brain maps.
These maps highlight important brain areas for easy understanding.
Even non-neurologists can see how the AI supports the diagnosis visually.
More than 55 million peoples worldwide are affected by Dementia and nearby 10 million new cases arises every year.
The most common form, Alzheimer’s disease is now becoming the fifth-leading cause of death worldwide.
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