In a new study from the University of Exeter, researchers found artificial intelligence can predict which people who attend memory clinics will develop dementia within two years with 92% accuracy.
They used data from more than 15,300 patients in the US and found that a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning can accurately tell who will go on to develop dementia.
The technique works by spotting hidden patterns in the data and learning who is most at risk.
The study also suggested that the algorithm could help reduce the number of people who may have been falsely diagnosed with dementia.
In the study, the researchers analyzed data from people who attended a network of 30 National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center memory clinics in the US.
The attendees did not have dementia at the start of the study, though many were experiencing problems with memory or other brain functions.
In the study timeframe between 2005 and 2015, one in ten attendees (1,568) received a new diagnosis of dementia within two years of visiting the memory clinic.
The research found that the machine learning model could predict these new dementia cases with up to 92% accuracy—and far more accurately than two existing alternative research methods.
The researchers also found for the first time that around 8% (130) of the dementia diagnoses appeared to be made in error, as their diagnosis was subsequently reversed.
Machine learning models accurately identified more than 80% of these inconsistent diagnoses.
Artificial intelligence can not only accurately predict who will be diagnosed with dementia, but it also has the potential to improve the accuracy of these diagnoses.
The team says embedding machine learning in memory clinics could help ensure the diagnosis is far more accurate, reducing the unnecessary distress that a wrong diagnosis could cause.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about neighborhood that may affect your dementia risk, and findings of therapy that boosts recovery from stroke and dementia.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about sleep loss in middle age that may increase dementia risk, and results showing that this healthy diet may strongly prevent memory loss and dementia.
The study is published in JAMA Network Open. One author of the study is Professor David Llewellyn.
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