An artificial intelligence-enabled (AI) screening tool for dementia that can quantify brain tissue volume is now being used by a hospital in Singapore. 

The Farrer Park Hospital, located in Connexion, Singapore, has started offering an enhanced neuroimaging service using the AI MRI scan on September 21. 

The Singaporean hospital has also partnered with a social service agency in the country that will help provide support and training for patients and those who provide care for them. 

AI-Enabled MRI Dementia Screening Tool Used by Singaporean Hospital

An AI-enabled MRI screening tool for dementia has been adopted by a hospital in Singapore known as the Farrer Park Hospital. 

According to a report by MobiHealthNews, the AI-enabled MRI screening tool "is used to quantify brain tissue volume in patients suspected of having dementia."

Quoting Dr. Santhosh Raj, a consultant neuroradiologist and neuro interventionalist at the Farrer Park Hospital, this screening tool "provides additional disease-specific information to enhance dementia diagnosis."

Thanks to this technology, the Singaporean hospital is now able to provide an enhanced neuroimaging service for its patients. The service is being offered beginning September 21. 

Dementia patients who have undergone an MRI scan within the past year "may be considered for the brain tissue volume quantification without undergoing a full scan," according to the report. 

MobiHealthNews also reported that the hospital has partnered with Dementia Singapore, which will provide patients and caregivers needed psychological support and training. 

What is Dementia?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), dementia is "not a specific disease but is rather a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities."

There are different types of dementia. These include:

• Alzheimer's disease (the most common type of dementia)

• Vascular dementia

• Lewy body dementia

• Fronto-temporal dementia

• Mixed dementia

There are a couple of risk factors for dementia. The strongest of these factors is age. According to the CDC, dementia usually affects those who are 65 years old and older. Other risk factors include family history, poor heart health, and traumatic brain injury. 

Related Article: Elderly People Can Protect Their Aging Brain From Dementia With Housework, Exercise

Using AI to Detect Health Problems

AI is increasingly being used these days to help in the detection of health problems and issues like dementia. 

There have been multiple technologies that have been created to help detect dementia, such as an AI-enabled health app that can detect early signs of dementia and a single brain scan that can help with diagnosis. 

As for other health problems and concerns, Google published a paper by its researchers in 2019 who claimed that their AI system can detect 26 skin conditions. 

Last year, it was also reported that an AI was created that can listen to coughs and sneezes to detect respiratory illnesses. 

Also Read: Researchers Invented AI That Can Listen to Coughs and Sneezes To Detect How Many People Have Respiratory Illnesses in Public Spaces

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Written by Isabella James