Pointers at Glance
- As per a new study, scientists have developed an AI model that can spot the early onset of Alzheimer’s.
- The AI model can identify the point at which brain images were linked to the mental disorder.
According to a new study, researchers have built an AI model that can detect the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders.
Scientists from Georgia State University trained its AI model on volumes of brain imaging data to detect “novel” patterns related to mental disorders, which could lead to early preventative treatments. Their study findings were published in Nature Scientific Reports.
The information came from scans of functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) that measure brain activity by identifying small changes in blood flow.
According to lead author Sergey Pils, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Neuroscience at Georgia State, this dynamic imaging is the same as a movie rather than a single point in time spotted in an x-ray or structural MRI.
He said the available data is much larger and richer than a blood test or a regular MRI. But the challenge is that a massive amount of information is hard to interpret.
FMRIs for these brain disorders are expensive, but the AI model can mine regular FMRIs to get what researchers need.
Vince Calhoun, Co-author and one of the study’s authors and director of the TReNDS Center at Georgia State University, says that there are huge datasets available in individuals without a known clinical disorder. New patterns emerged that could link to Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and autism.
The scientists trained the AI model on data gathered from more than 10,000 people to understand brain function and how FMRI portrays the brain. Next, they used more than 1,200 people with schizophrenia, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease datasets.
The AI model identified the point at which brain images were linked to the mental disorder.
The aim is to identify the disorders before they develop and start clinical treatment early. Calhoun added that if they can find markers for and predict Alzheimer’s disease risk in a 40-year-old, they might be able to do something about it.
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