NHS testing computer programme to aid diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
08 Mar 2011
The UK National Health Service (NHS) is testing a computer programme that uses brain scans to spot Alzheimer's Disease early.
The new method compares the patient's brain against a database of 1,200 existing images of brains known to be affected by the degenerative brain condition.
This database is said to the largest of its kind in the world.
The test, developed at Maudsley Hospital and Kings College London, delivers results with an 85 per cent accuracy in just 24 hours.
Currently doctors have to rely mainly on memory tests that are not particularly reliable.
According to the Alzheimer's Society, the result is that only 40 per cent of the 750,000 people in the UK with dementia receive a formal diagnosis. The number is expected to soar to 1.7 million by 2051.
