PREDICTOM

Dementia affects growing numbers of people worldwide. There are now treatments designed to slow the progress of the disease, however these are likely to be most effective when given in the very earliest stages of the disease. The challenge is most people are only diagnosed once their symptoms are quite advanced. Furthermore, diagnosing dementia currently involves invasive and costly tests such as PET (positron emission tomography) scans and analyses of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

The goal of the PREDICTOM project is to develop a screening platform capable of identifying people at risk of dementia, before the first symptoms appear. Crucially, patients would be able to start the screening process from the comfort of their own homes. They could collect samples of bodily fluids, and use digital technologies to gather results (e.g. smartphone-based eye tracking and cognitive tests).

Samples will be sent to the PREDICTOM partners’ laboratories, and then to the PREDICTOM platform for processing of the data. Algorithms based on artificial intelligence (AI) would then assess the person’s risk of developing dementia and their prognosis. In this way, the platform will facilitate the early diagnosis of a wider range of people, enabling earlier intervention and hopefully slowing progress of the disease.

Over 4 000 people from across Europe will take part in the PREDICTOM study. The project brings together industry, academia, patient groups and hospitals.