Multi-million pound project to detect dementia

A multi-million pound research hub is set to build artificial intelligence (AI) and data systems in a bid to prevent and detect dementia.

The BRAINIAC Hub, led by the University of Exeter, is funded by £10m from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. Another £10m will be contributed by industry, charity and NHS partners.

The university said the hub would develop AI combining brain imaging, genetics, blood biomarkers and digital cognitive tests into a "single, clear picture of a person's brain health".

The funding covers a six year project with the first clinics to start operating in 2029, initially open to people via NHS referral.

It said BRAINIAC - AI and Emerging Technologies for Next Generation Brain Health Clinics - brings together 11 universities and 10 NHS sites over six years.

It said it would involve 10 brain health clinics across the UK to create one of the biggest research platforms into what really works to diagnose, prevent and treat dementia.

The clinics aim to help reduce risk and halve the time of getting a dementia diagnosis.

BRAINIAC director David Llewellyn, professor of clinical epidemiology and digital health at the university's medical school, said detection was the "hardest problem".

"The tools we build in these NHS clinics will let us pick up the first signs before symptoms show, and offer people a personalised prevention plan to help them keep their brains sharp for longer," Llewellyn said.

According to the university, about 982,000 people in the UK live with dementia.

It said the number was set to reach 1.4m by 2040, with the annual cost set to more than double to £90bn.

It said UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has committed up to £80m for researchers to develop tools which could support diagnosing 92% of people referred with suspected dementia within 18 weeks by 2029.

The hub aims to make assessment and diagnosis 30% to 50% faster and identify more than 40% of the people it assesses at early-risk - before symptoms develop.

Deputy director Chris Fox, professor of clinical psychiatry at the university medical school and a practising clinician, said current treatments only help if people were diagnosed early.

"BRAINIAC will give the NHS the tools to do that at scale, designed with patients and clinicians from the start so they work in a busy clinic and not just on paper," Fox said.

The project brings together several universities including Cambridge, Oxford, Newcastle, Swansea and Imperial College London. It also involves organisations such as Dementia UK and Alzheimer's Society.

BRAINIAC is one of five new hubs to be funded by across the UK.

Professor Charlotte Deane, executive chair of the engineering and physical sciences research council at UKRI, said the five hubs would "improve lives".

"They build on the proven success of our previous hubs, which are already translating cutting-edge research into real benefits, advancing healthcare innovation, including the world's first AI-assisted brain tumour surgery," she said.

"By working closely with patients, the NHS and industry, we're helping people live healthier lives and preventing ill health before it starts."

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