Artificial intelligence could speed up and improve Alzheimer's diagnosis

The new research from the University of Sheffield's Neuroscience Institute examines how the routine use of AI in healthcare could help to relieve the time and economic impact that common neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, put on the NHS. The main risk factor for many neurological disorders is age, and with populations worldwide living longer than ever before, the number of people with a neurodegenerative disease is expected to hit unprecedented levels. The number of people living with Alzheimer's alone is predicted to treble to 115 million by 2050, posing a real challenge for the health system. The new study, published in the journal Nature Reviews Neurology, highlights how AI technologies, such as machine learning algorithms, can detect neurodegenerative disorders -- which cause part of the brain to die -- before progressive symptoms worsen. This can improve patients' chances of benefitting from successful disease-modifying treatment.