Taiwanese scientists have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) application that utilizes electroencephalography (EEG) signals to spot mild cognitive impairments that often occur before dementia is diagnosed.
The Ministry of Science and Technology on Wednesday said that the diagnosis system is used for the accurate and rapid screening of mild cognitive impairments and ensuing Alzheimer’s disease-induced dementia
The tool — which has a 92 percent accuracy — was developed by National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and HippoScreen Neurotech Corp in a ministry-funded program, the ministry told a news conference in Taipei, adding that it funded the research.
Photo: CNA
Lead researcher Liu Yi-hung (劉益宏), a professor of mechanical engineering at the university and founder of HippoScreen, said that the EEG signal patterns of people with mild cognitive impairments are less complex than those of healthy people.
The decreased complexity of EEG signals corresponds with increasing communication difficulties, he said.
Researchers developed algorithms to decipher, classify and interpret EEG signals with regard to signs of impending dementia, he said.
The researchers used EEG data from 80 study participants, he said, adding that the results were published in multiple peer-reviewed academic journals, including the International Journal of Fuzzy Systems, he said.
The technology — which would be available to health professionals as a cloud-based service — would help doctors diagnose mild cognitive impairments within 40 seconds of uploading an EEG reading to the server, he said.
The researchers are working on a follow-up program to improve the system, with the goal to collect EEG readings from 500 participants before the end of June next year, he said.
The research team’s partners in the next phase of testing include National Taiwan University Hospital, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, he said.
The Food and Drug Administration and its US counterpart have approved the technology, which would become available to medical professionals in the second half of next year, he said.
Tsai Chia-fen (蔡佳芬), a psychiatrist at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, said that 15 to 20 percent of people with mild cognitive impairments later developed Alzheimer’s-induced dementia.
The new tool would help assess dementia risks in older people at risk of the disease, she added.
The system’s underlying technologies have the potential for further development and application in treating other conditions, including depression and drug addiction, said Chen Chih-ken (陳志根), a psychiatrist at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Keelung branch.
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