AI could be the latest tool in battle against dementia
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Dementia is a growing problem in Australia's ageing society and identifying people with it can be difficult. The latest research shows how artificial intelligence could make a difference. About 50 million people worldwide live with some form of dementia, and that's expected to triple by 2050, according to the World Alzheimer Report. Professor Velandai Srikanth said clues from AI could lead to a fuller clinical evaluation. (Nine) But even that could be an underestimate because identifying people with the illness can be challenging. Now, an Australian-US team of researchers has developed an artificial intelligence tool that detects dementia by analysing medical records for hundreds of clues including memory, difficulty performing daily activities, anxiety and unexplained agitation. It makes it easier to diagnose potential sufferers. "If we find that there are clues to the presence of dementia in a person, and with their permission, we would be able to do a fuller clinical evaluation and confirm that and potentially provide them better care," Professor Velandai Srikanth said. Researchers from the National Centre for Healthy Ageing - a partnership between Melbourne's Monash University and Peninsula Health - studied more than 1000 people aged 60 and above with dementia. Using traditional data gathering and AI, researchers found their algorithms were highly accurate in determining whether or not a person had the illness. They believe that, if adopted widely, this AI approach could transform how dementia is identified and managed. dementia
health
medical
Australia
national
Artificial Intelligence CONTACT US
Auto news: Australia's most dangerous regional roads revealed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
16 hours ago
- The Age
Ratsak is losing its bite: How to get rid of the rats in your ranks
Black rats commonly found in roofs across Australia are developing a genetic mutation that increases their resistance to rat poisons, which continue to kill large numbers of native birds and frogs. New research shows more than half the studied black rats – the most common form of introduced rats in Australia – had a genetic mutation that indicates some resistance to second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, also known as SGARs. Black rats are the most common introduced rat in Australia. In Europe, North America and Britain, brown rats have developed resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides. In one UK study, up to half of the observed brown rat population survived repeated ingestion of rat poison. Experts say the findings are alarming because people might be using larger quantities of poisons to eradicate rats in their homes, thus introducing more poisons into the food chain. SGARs are so potent that they are lethal to secondary predators that feed on rodents, including tawny frogmouths, Australian boobooks and eastern barn owls. Loading Poisons leaching into waterways have also found their way into frogs and toads, while possums and reptiles have also been found to contain SGARs. The poisons work by preventing blood clotting, causing animals to die from internal bleeding. New research led by Edith Cowan University PhD student and environmental toxicologist Alicia Gorbould found a genetic mutation Tyr25Phe – associated with resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides - in the majority of black rats the team studied. Gorbould and her colleagues tested the tails of 191 rats caught between 2021 and 2024 in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Sydney Morning Herald
16 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Ratsak is losing its bite: how to get rid of rats in your ranks
Black rats commonly found in roofs across Australia are developing a genetic mutation that increases their resistance to rat poisons, which continue to kill large numbers of native birds and frogs. New research shows more than half the studied black rats – the most common form of introduced rats in Australia – had a genetic mutation that indicates some resistance to second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, also known as SGARs. Black rats are the most common introduced rat in Australia. In Europe, North America and Britain, brown rats have developed resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides. In one UK study, up to half of the observed brown rat population survived repeated ingestion of rat poison. Experts say the findings are alarming because people might be using larger quantities of poisons to eradicate rats in their homes, thus introducing more poisons into the food chain. SGARs are so potent that they are lethal to secondary predators that feed on rodents, including tawny frogmouths, Australian boobooks and eastern barn owls. Loading Poisons leaching into waterways have also found their way into frogs and toads, while possums and reptiles have also been found to contain SGARs. The poisons work by preventing blood clotting, causing animals to die from internal bleeding. New research led by Edith Cowan University PhD student and environmental toxicologist Alicia Gorbould found a genetic mutation Tyr25Phe – associated with resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides - in the majority of black rats the team studied. Gorbould and her colleagues tested the tails of 191 rats caught between 2021 and 2024 in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
West Australian
16 hours ago
- West Australian
Declared weed and grain crop threat Gazania found to be more resilient in La Trobe study
Invasive African flower Gazania is more resilient than previously thought and is now considered one of Australia's biggest weed threats to grain production and the native environment. A recent study by La Trobe University's Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food found the flower's seeds had a high level of tolerance for light levels, temperatures, soil acidity and salt levels, moisture, and seed burial depth. Considered an environmental weed in Australia, Gazania is widespread across the southern half of Australia, and can be found in WA's Goldfields and southern Wheatbelt area. Introduced to Australia as ornamental plants in the 1950s and 1970s, the declared weed had been found to be infesting grain crops in low rainfall regions in South Australia and resisting farmers' efforts to control with common herbicides. PhD student Muhammad Adnan said thousands of seeds collected from environments across the country showed an ability to adapt to germinate in different environmental conditions. He said that adaptability could see the weed spread more widely across the country and lead to potential high infestation levels. 'While further populations should be compared for emergence response under field conditions, these preliminary findings suggest this weed has the potential to develop significant seed bank in Australian no-till grain systems,' Mr Adnan said. Dr Ali Ahsan Bajwa said the findings should help in predicting regions that could potentially experience Gazania infestation. 'While this information is crucial for managing this highly problematic weed at the establishment stage (germination and emergence), further research is needed on growth and reproductive response of Gazania to different environmental conditions,' he said. 'This will help understand the invasion ecology and develop long-term strategies for different land-use scenarios for this weed, which is rapidly spreading across Australia.' Gazania can be found in a variety of habitats such as open grasslands, cultivated and irrigated sites, stream banks, wastelands, and coastal sand dunes.
