One million brain scans used to assess dementia risk

The latest research project is called Scan-Dan (Scottish AI in Neuroimaging to predict Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disease) and forms part a global research collaboration called NEURii.

Prof Emanuele Trucco, an expert in AI and medical imaging at Dundee University, said: “Scotland and the UK are at the forefront of clinical data research.

“This new data set will be of great use to neurological researchers.”

Prof Trucco said the scientists did not know exactly what they were looking for but because it was such a large number of brain scans he was confident they would be able to identify patterns associated with dementia.

“So if we see your brain, even if we are not entirely sure what we are seeing in the first instance, I can still predict whether you are at risk,” he said.

The team said they would have a better understanding of the technology’s potential by early next year but that it would take another few years to develop a product that could be used in practice.