UK commits £80 million to accelerate dementia diagnosis

UK Allocates £80 Million to Boost Dementia Diagnosis Speed and Accuracy

UKRI Initiative to Accelerate Dementia Testing and Improve Outcomes

Oct 2 (Reuters) - The UK's national research agency is backing a plan to speed up dementia testing with up to £80 million ($105.48 million) in funding, to improve diagnosis rates and cut waiting times that can exceed a year.

Key Details of the Funding and Technologies

Here are more details:

Innovative Technologies to be Trialled

• UK Research and Innovation, or UKRI, said on Friday nine new technologies — including faster brain scans, blood tests and a 15-minute remote cognitive test — will be trialled in the National Health Service.

Project Goals and Expected Impact

• The project aims to diagnose 92% of patients within 18 weeks of referral, up from about 60% now.

Shortening MRI Scan Times

• One of the projects seeks to shorten MRI brain scans to about seven minutes from around 20, which would allow more patients to be scanned and lower costs, UKRI said.

Additional AI and Digital Tools

• Other projects include an artificial intelligence tool to predict how the disease will progress, digital tools to track changes in memory and thinking, and a home sensor system to help doctors step in earlier.

Funding Approach and Selection Criteria

• Only projects that demonstrate benefits in NHS testing will receive additional funding — an approach UKRI calls "fail-fast", designed to speed up adoption of effective technologies.

Statements from Officials

• "Dementia has been neglected for far too long," Minister of State for Health Karin Smyth said.

• "More people die as a consequence of dementia than any other disease in the United Kingdom, accounting for almost one in eight deaths," said UKRI Health Mission Challenge Director Andy Hill, adding that over 72,000 people across the UK died from dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, last year.

Additional Information

($1 = 0.7584 pounds)

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)