UF Study Shows Artificial Intelligence’s Potential To Predict Dementia
New research shows that a form of artificial intelligence combined with MRI scans of the brain has the potential to predict whether people with a specific type of early memory loss will go on to develop a form of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
University of Florida researchers studied 55 participants who had been diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, a condition in which a person has more memory problems than expected for their age. The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
By applying a computer algorithm, known as a support vector machine model, to a 45-minute MRI brain scan, the researchers reported that the algorithm could predict progression from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to dementia with over 94% accuracy. Furthermore, they reported that the algorithm produced 92.7% accuracy when using a 10-minute MRI brain scan alone.
Of the participants, 14 developed dementia and 41 remained stable over a study period that averaged about 15 months.
“A unique aspect of this study is that we were able to identify the exact areas of the brain that differentiated the two groups. This is crucial for predicting which participants are more likely to develop dementia and is also important for our future research efforts,” said Joseph Gullett, Ph.D., a research assistant professor in the department of clinical and health psychology in UF’s College of Public Health and Health Professions who led the study.
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