San Francisco, 11/19
A team of researchers is developing a “dual-mode brain sensor device” that can quickly and effectively detect Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a new report.
According to UTA (University of Texas at Arlington), Hanli Liu, a bioengineering professor, will become the lead researcher of the project “Digital Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease Using Compact Dual-Mode Brain Recognition.”
She says: “What we are doing in this project is to develop a fast and convenient method to measure metabolic, hemodynamic and electrophysiological (MHE) activities in the human brain.”
“The proposed development allows us to identify digital neurophysiological biomarkers. After we cross-validate them, they can be used for accurate detection of Alzheimer’s in any patient, as well as screening for early phase AD,” she added.
This device reportedly records data from near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as well as dry/wireless electroencephalograms (EEG).
In spectroscopy, NIR light is absorbed and emitted by the human cortex, while in electroencephalography, electrical activity in the brain reflects dynamic neural activity.
This multifunctional device will be able to measure a variety of brain health parameters, such as cerebral metabolism, cerebral blood volume, cerebral oxygenation, brain oscillatory forces, as well as functional connectivity and neurovascular coupling, the report added.
The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 50 million people worldwide, including more than 6 million Americans, have Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
Among all types of dementia, AD kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. AD and other types of dementia will cost $355 billion in 2021, a figure expected to rise to more than $1 trillion by 2050, the report said.
IANS
