Imperial researchers have developed new digital techniques and biomarkers to help detect, diagnose and treat neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Huntingdon’s and Parkinson’s. The techniques, developed by Professor Daniel Rueckert and his team in the Department of Computing, use artificial intelligence to analyse and interpret brain MRI scans – crucial information that helps clinicians diagnose disease and spot brain changes during treatment.

The techniques are now routinely used in clinical trials to test the efficacy of new neurological drugs. Also used are their newly developed biomarkers – indicators of disease state, like the volume of brain matter in certain regions, which can tell us about disease progression. Under spin-out company IXICO the techniques have been used in more than 2,000 imaging centres thus far and analysed more than 100,000 brain MRI scans.