HMN 2025: How AI software detects 9 forms of dementia from a single mind scan

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a brand new synthetic intelligence (AI) software that helps clinicians determine mind exercise patterns linked to 9 forms of dementia, together with Alzheimer’s illness, utilizing a single, broadly obtainable scan—a transformative advance in early, correct prognosis.

The software, StateViewer, helped researchers determine the dementia sort in 88% of instances, in accordance with analysis published on-line on June 27, 2025, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. It additionally enabled clinicians to interpret mind scans practically twice as quick and with as much as thrice larger accuracy than customary workflows. Researchers skilled and examined the AI on greater than 3,600 scans, together with photos from sufferers with dementia and folks with out cognitive impairment.

This innovation addresses a core problem in dementia care: figuring out the illness early and exactly, even when a number of circumstances are current. As new therapies emerge, well timed prognosis helps match sufferers with essentially the most applicable care when it might probably have the best influence. The software may convey superior diagnostic assist to clinics that lack neurology experience.

The rising toll of dementia

Dementia impacts greater than 55 million individuals worldwide, with practically 10 million new instances every year. Alzheimer’s illness, the commonest type, is now the fifth-leading reason for dying globally. Diagnosing dementia sometimes requires cognitive assessments, blood attracts, imaging, medical interviews and specialist referrals. Even with intensive testing, distinguishing circumstances resembling Alzheimer’s, Lewy physique dementia and frontotemporal dementia stays difficult, together with for extremely skilled specialists.

StateViewer was developed beneath the path of David Jones, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and director of the Mayo Clinic Neurology Artificial Intelligence Program.

“Every affected person who walks into my clinic carries a novel story formed by the mind’s complexity,” Dr. Jones says. “That complexity drew me to neurology and continues to drive my dedication to clearer solutions. StateViewer displays that dedication—a step towards earlier understanding, extra exact therapy and, someday, altering the course of those ailments.”

To convey that imaginative and prescient to life, Dr. Jones labored alongside Leland Barnard, Ph.D., a knowledge scientist who leads the AI engineering behind StateViewer.

“As we have been designing StateViewer, we by no means overpassed the truth that behind each knowledge mark and mind scan was an individual dealing with a tough prognosis and pressing questions,” Dr. Barnard says. “Seeing how this software may help physicians with real-time, exact insights and steering highlights the potential of machine {learning} for medical medication.”

Turning mind patterns into medical perception

The software analyzes a fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scan, which reveals how the mind makes use of glucose for power. It then compares the scan to a big database of scans from individuals with confirmed dementia diagnoses and identifies patterns that match particular sorts, or mixtures, of dementia.

Alzheimer’s sometimes impacts reminiscence and processing areas, Lewy physique dementia entails areas tied to consideration and motion, and frontotemporal dementia alters areas answerable for language and conduct. StateViewer shows these patterns by color-coded mind maps that spotlight key areas of mind exercise, giving all clinicians, even these with out neurology coaching, a visible clarification of what the AI sees and the way it helps the prognosis.

Mayo Clinic researchers plan to develop the software’s use and can proceed evaluating its efficiency in a wide range of medical settings.