In a recent study, researchers of the University of Granada designed a new computer program that would aid in early detection of Alzheimer's disease by processed images. This new system has improved the rate of successful early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease up to 90%. The study was published in the journals Information Sciences (2010).
The study was carried out by Professor Ignacio Alvarez Ill-n, a member of SIPBA (Signal Processing and Biomedical Applications) TIC-010 of the University of Granada, in addition to professors Juan Manuel G-rriz S-ez, Javier Ram-rez P-rez de Inestrosa and Carlos Garc-a Puntonet. The researching team was able to design new techniques for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease by using a series of processed images. The techniques were successfully evaluated, and the results were promising. The researching team cooperated with ADNI (Alzheimer's Disease NeuroImaging Initiative), the international project that allowed the use of one of the greatest database in the world of Alzheimer's disease.
During the study, researchers used SPECT and PET tomography images from three different databases, the images came from from university hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain, second group of images were provided by the company PET- Cartuja in Seville, Spain while the third and largest database, was provided by ADNI project, United States. The results showed that the new program achieved 90% success rate in diagnosing Alzheimer by both PET and SPECT.
