About the research topic
With the aging population, an increasing number of individuals are expected to be diagnosed with dementia in the future. Dementia is predominantly associated with older age. People experiencing cognitive decline will want to receive a timely and accurate diagnosis. They will also want to know what to expect and seek treatment to prevent further cognitive decline, particularly since emerging treatments are considered most effective in early disease stages. MRI is a powerful tool for diagnosis, prognostication, and assessment of effects of novel treatments. However, current access to MRI in first-line care is limited.
In the Scan2Go project, a Dutch consortium comprising ten companies and research groups, our aim is to develop an easy-to-use autonomous MRI for use in first-line care dedicated for diagnosing neurodegeneration and cerebrovascular injury, consistent with (early-stage) dementia. The MRI scanner will be placed within an elderly-care facility where it will be accessible from first-line care. Within Erasmus MC and Biomedical Imaging Group, our contribution is developing and validating AI models for automatic quantification and interpretation of brain MRIs.
