Exeter-led research hub to develop AI tools for early dementia diagnosis

Patients may soon be diagnosed with dementia before their symptoms even develop thanks to a new multi-million pound research hub led by the University of Exeter.

A £20 million investment into the BRAINIAC Hub - AI and Emerging Technologies for Next Generation Brain Health Clinics - will help create ten new brain health clinics across the UK.

It is understood that these brain clinics will be networked together to create “one of the biggest” research platforms into the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of dementia.

The first clinics are expected to open to NHS patients, via referral, from 2029, thanks to £10 million of funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and another £10 million from industry, charity, and NHS partners.

BRAINIAC director David Llewellyn, professor of clinical epidemiology and digital health at the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “The hardest problem is detecting the earliest changes so we know who can benefit from treatment and prevention.

“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.”

It is understood nearly one million people in the UK live with dementia, a number experts suggest will increase to 1.4 million by 2040.

Many of those who are referred wait months to be seen - if they ever receive a diagnosis at all, according to the University of Exeter.

This new hub hopes to halve the time taken for patients in the UK to receive a dementia diagnosis through the development of tools which “could support diagnosing 92 per cent of people referred with suspected dementia within 18 weeks by 2029”.

It aims to identify more than 40 per cent of the people it assesses at the “early risk” stage - before symptoms develop - as this is when treatment is most likely to help.

BRAINIAC says it will develop artificial intelligence that brings together “blood biomarkers, brain imaging, genetics, health records, and digital cognitive assessments” to create a clearer picture of a person’s brain health.

The AI will be built to enable patients to complete assessments online in the comfort of their homes and will be co-designed by those living with dementia and their carers.

It is also said that the hub will train around 200 clinicians and engineers for these new roles, creating more local jobs.

“Every week I see people who have waited far too long to be seen, and how little we can offer once dementia is advanced,” said deputy director Chris Fox, professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Exeter Medical School.

“The treatments now arriving only help if we find people 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.”

Alison McGovern, Minister of State for Social Care, has today said she believes dementia has been “neglected for far too long”.

“By investing in ground-breaking hubs like this one in Exeter,” she said, “we will continue to deliver new research and treatments and put science and technology at the heart of our efforts to transform care and support for people living with dementia and their families.

“I would encourage anyone interested in joining the fight against dementia to search 'join dementia research’ to find out how they can take part.”