New MRI system gives 'more accurate' Alzheimer's diagnosis
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Posted on Jun 23, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
Alzheimer's disease could be diagnosed faster and more accurately using a new automated system for measuring brain tissue, a study from the Cognitive Neuroscience and Brain Imaging Laboratory in Paris has found.
Alzheimer's disease could be diagnosed faster and more accurately using a new automated system for measuring brain tissue, a study from the Cognitive Neuroscience and Brain Imaging Laboratory in Paris has found.
The new system would use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to help physicians diagnose the disease at an earlier stage, by viewing subtle changes in the brain such as tissue loss in the hippocampus region.
Until now segmentation, which is measuring brain tissue volume with MRI, has been a lengthy process but the automated system has decreased this time considerably.
Dr Olivier Colliot, the study's leader, said: "It can be performed within a few minutes versus an hour.
"Automated segmentation of the hippocampus on MR images can contribute to a more accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease."
Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's can be beneficial as it increases the chances that symptoms can be improved or stabilized.
Alzheimer's is the sixth-leading cause of death in America, with someone developing the disease every 71 seconds, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
