BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston University researchers have developed an artificial intelligence tool that could be an early detection breakthrough for those with Alzheimer’s.

The tool is less expensive than traditional testing methods, such as PET scans, and researchers at BU said it can accurately pick up on primary indicators of the disease.

“A neurologist hopefully could use this tool to predict if somebody might turn out to be PET positive clinically,” BU Professor Vijaya B. Kolachalama said.

Researchers collected data from over 12,000 participants, including ages, health history, memory test scores, genetic information and MRIs, according to the study that was also published this month in Nature Communications journal. Those data points were used to train an AI tool, that was taught to recognize and compare the data to each participant's PET scan profiles.

PET scans can cost $8,000, so the professor said the medical field is in need of an alternative way to diagnose people.

The end result, Kolachalama said, is a tool that can comb through a person's health data to detect early signs of the disease, without using a PET scan. He said this tool has so far been about 80% accurate in picking out patients who have early Alzheimer's signs.

The professor said the main application of the tool right now would be to find patients who are likely to develop Alzheimer's and sign them up for clinical trials of new therapies.

One key biomarker of Alzheimer's is when sticky proteins, called amyloid beta and tau, accumulate in the brain, Kolachalama said. This disrupts how effectively the cells can send messages to the brain and body, leading to cognitive decline, according to the National Institute on Aging.

New therapies are emerging to help combat the proteins, but early diagnosis is key. Otherwise, too much damage to could be done to a patient's brain before a doctor steps in.

The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the BU Rajen Kilachand Fund for Integrated Life Science and Engineering helped fund this research, according to the university.

WBZ NewsRadio’s Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.

On-Air Schedule

WBZ News with Madison Rogers