{"id":646,"date":"2024-10-25T16:52:42","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T20:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/?page_id=646"},"modified":"2024-10-29T15:24:19","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T19:24:19","slug":"alzheimers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/gray-matter\/alzheimers\/","title":{"rendered":"Predicting Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Using AI"},"content":{"rendered":"

From brain imaging to blood tests and cognitive assessments, the tools available to detect Alzheimer\u2019s disease generally catch this disease too late. But now, Boston University researchers are exploring the power of AI to predict Alzheimer\u2019s<\/a> by analyzing a patient\u2019s speech.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institute on Aging, and BU\u2019s Rajen Kilachand Fund for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering<\/strong>, the model they designed can predict, with an accuracy rate of 78.5%, whether someone with mild cognitive impairment is likely to remain stable or fall into the dementia associated with Alzheimer\u2019s disease. The multidisciplinary team of engineers, neuropsychologists, and computer and data scientists published their findings in Alzheimer\u2019s & Dementia: the Journal of the Alzheimer\u2019s Association<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can reasonably make that prediction with relatively good confidence and accuracy,\u201d says Ioannis Paschalidis<\/strong><\/a>, coauthor of the paper and director of the BU Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cIt shows the power of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Professors Ioannis Paschalidis<\/strong> and Rhoda Au<\/strong> are exploring the power of AI to predict Alzheimer\u2019s by analyzing speech.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The model was developed using data from the Framingham Heart Study<\/strong><\/a>, of which BU has been a longstanding partner. Using audio recordings of interviews with a group of study participants diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, Paschalidis and his colleagues used speech recognition tools and machine learning to train their model to spot connections among speech, demographics (e.g., age, gender, etc.), diagnosis, and disease progression. Then, they tested the model\u2019s predictive capabilities on the rest of the study\u2019s participants. The results were impressive.<\/p>\n

Their model may have the added benefit of providing healthcare equity for underserved populations. \u201cTechnology can overcome the bias of work that can only be done by those with resources, or care that has relied on specialized expertise that is not available to everyone,\u201d says Rhoda Au<\/strong><\/a>, a professor of anatomy and neurobiology, and an investigator with the Framingham Heart Study, who coauthored the paper. With the hope to eventually eliminate expensive lab tests, imaging exams, or office visits, Au and Paschalidis see tremendous potential for diagnosing dementia from home, using a smartphone app.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can predict what will happen, you have more of an opportunity and time window to intervene with drugs,\u201d says Paschalidis. \u201cWe hope, as everyone does, that there will be more and more Alzheimer\u2019s treatments made available.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From brain imaging to blood tests and cognitive assessments, the tools available to detect Alzheimer\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12906,"featured_media":0,"parent":86,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"bu-landing","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/646"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12906"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":766,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/646\/revisions\/766"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/86"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}