Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a brand new synthetic intelligence (AI) software that helps clinicians establish mind exercise patterns linked to 9 forms of dementia, together with Alzheimer’s illness, utilizing a single, broadly accessible scan—a transformative advance in early, correct analysis.
The software, StateViewer, helped researchers establish the dementia sort in 88% of instances, in response to analysis revealed on-line on June 27, 2025, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. It additionally enabled clinicians to interpret mind scans practically twice as quick and with as much as thrice larger accuracy than normal workflows. Researchers skilled and examined the AI on greater than 3,600 scans, together with pictures from sufferers with dementia and folks with out cognitive impairment.
This innovation addresses a core problem in dementia care: figuring out the illness early and exactly, even when a number of situations are current. As new remedies emerge, well timed analysis helps match sufferers with essentially the most applicable care when it could possibly have the best affect. The software may deliver superior diagnostic assist to clinics that lack neurology experience.
The rising toll of dementia
Dementia impacts greater than 55 million folks worldwide, with practically 10 million new instances every year. Alzheimer’s illness, the most typical type, is now the fifth-leading explanation for demise globally. Diagnosing dementia usually requires cognitive assessments, blood attracts, imaging, medical interviews and specialist referrals. Even with intensive testing, distinguishing situations comparable to Alzheimer’s, Lewy physique dementia and frontotemporal dementia stays difficult, together with for extremely skilled specialists.
StateViewer was developed underneath the course of David Jones, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and director of the Mayo Clinic Neurology Synthetic Intelligence Program.
“Each affected person who walks into my clinic carries a singular story formed by the mind’s complexity,” Dr. Jones says. “That complexity drew me to neurology and continues to drive my dedication to clearer solutions. StateViewer displays that dedication—a step towards earlier understanding, extra exact remedy and, someday, altering the course of those ailments.”
To deliver that imaginative and prescient to life, Dr. Jones labored alongside Leland Barnard, Ph.D., a knowledge scientist who leads the AI engineering behind StateViewer.
“As we have been designing StateViewer, we by no means overpassed the truth that behind each knowledge level and mind scan was an individual dealing with a tough analysis and pressing questions,” Dr. Barnard says. “Seeing how this software may help physicians with real-time, exact insights and steerage highlights the potential of machine studying for medical medication.”
Turning mind patterns into medical perception
The software analyzes a fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scan, which reveals how the mind makes use of glucose for vitality. It then compares the scan to a big database of scans from folks with confirmed dementia diagnoses and identifies patterns that match particular varieties, or combos, of dementia.
Alzheimer’s usually impacts reminiscence and processing areas, Lewy physique dementia includes areas tied to consideration and motion, and frontotemporal dementia alters areas liable for language and habits. StateViewer shows these patterns by means of color-coded mind maps that spotlight key areas of mind exercise, giving all clinicians, even these with out neurology coaching, a visible rationalization of what the AI sees and the way it helps the analysis.
Mayo Clinic researchers plan to increase the software’s use and can proceed evaluating its efficiency in quite a lot of medical settings.
Extra info:
Leland Barnard et al, An FDG-PET–Primarily based Machine Studying Framework to Assist Neurologic Choice-Making in Alzheimer Illness and Associated Issues, Neurology (2025). DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000213831
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AI software detects 9 forms of dementia from a single mind scan (2025, June 28)
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