Using Artificial Intelligence & data to fight dementia

Published: Oct. 5, 2020, midnight

Dr Megan O’Hare interviews Professor Bart De Strooper and Professor David Llewellyn, discussing the new UK Dementia Research Institute and DEMON Network partnership to unlock the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Professor Bart De Strooper is National Director and Group Leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute and Group Leader in his own research he looks at the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Professor David Llewellyn is the DEMON Network Director and an Associate Professor at the University of Exeter Medical School and a Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute. His research aims to enhance the timely detection of dementia, with a focus on developing strategies for primary and secondary prevention using machine learning. The Deep Dementia Phenotyping (DEMON) Network brings together academics, clinicians and other partners from across the world, and now it has joined forced with the UK Dementia Research Institute. The aim of this new collaboration is to rapidly speed up the transformation of data into clinical and biologically relevant knowledge in neurodegeneration research, to strengthen links with clinical researchers and industry, and to drive forward experimental dementia research using data science and artificial intelligence. There is no universally agreed definition of AI. The term broadly refers to computing technologies that resemble processes associated with human intelligence, such as reasoning, learning and adaptation, sensory understanding, and interaction. An important feature of contemporary AI technologies is that they are increasingly able to make sense of varied and unstructured kinds of data – so what could happen when you combine AI with large amounts of health and societal data? The potential is amazing, and could be the key to unlocking improved dementia risk analysis, diagnosis and treatments. You can find out more about our panellists, and their work on our website www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk. A transcript of this podcast is also available here https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/podcast-gate-and-dementia Like what you hear? Please review, like, and share our podcast - and don't forget to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode. _____________________________________________________________________ For more information on the collaboration visit: https://ukdri.ac.uk/news-and-events/new-partnership-with-the-demon-network-will-drive-forward-experimental-dementia-research To join the DEMON Network visit: http://demondementia.com/ _____________________________________________________________________ This podcast is brought to you in association with Alzheimer's Research UK and Alzheimer's Society, who we thank for their ongoing support.