Marking a milestone in the research and development (R&D) of Alzheimer’s Disease, a group of researchers in Oman have developed an AI-powered medical device for early detection of Alzheimer’s.
Named Ganglio-Nav for early detection of Alzheimer patients, this device, if used well in advance or around the time one suspects to have started decaying brain cells, will alert how close one is before losing his ‘yesterdays’ as no medicine has been found to fight the disease effectively.
The research team, led by Dr Sherimon PC, Faculty of Computer Studies, Arab Open University, Oman, was collaborated by the researchers from Royal Oman Police (ROP) hospital, and University of Technology and Applied Sciences (UTAS), Muscat and includes Dr Vinu Sherimon (UTAS, Muscat), Dr Rahul V Nair (ROP), Dr Renchi Mathew Kurian (ROP), and Dr Khalid Sheikh (ROP).
The team presented their findings followed by a demonstration to various academicians, medical practitioners and media in Oman on Tuesday. The research was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Oman.
“Our research contributions include the development of an Artificial Intelligence Neurologist to conduct the cognitive assessment in Alzheimer suspect patients and, the development of a Neuroscope,” Dr Sherimon PC told the Observer.
The study, entitled ‘WithYou – A clinical decision support system for early detection of Alzheimer disease in the Sultanate of Oman’, the brainchild of the group of doctors and academicians holds high importance in Oman as Alzheimer & Dementia deaths in Oman have reached 323 or 2.18 per cent of total deaths. Oman ranks 24 in the world and the age adjusted Death Rate in the country is 22.46 per 100,000 of population, according to the statistics released by the WHO.
Studies prove that about 60 per cent of dementia cases are caused by the degenerative, irreversible neurological disorder known as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have been utilised in this domain to help doctors in diagnosing Alzheimer.
In this research, the AI Neurologist which is developed by the team includes a 3D Avatar to conduct a variety of cognitive tests that evaluate language, direction, attention, memory, and visual-spatial abilities of Alzheimer suspected patients. Scores are calculated by the system and correspondingly the patient’s current situation is determined. Also, the team developed a neuroscope based on fNIRS (functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy), a device for analysing the neuronal activities of the prefrontal cortex of the human brain of Alzheimer patients. This device is wearable, portable, and reasonably compact.
World observes ‘Alzheimer’s Day’ on September 21 and towards supporting the patients and creating awareness among the people, Oman has formed the Oman Alzheimer’s Society founded by Dr Hamed al Sinawi in 2013 and has been a member of ADI (Alzheimer’s Disease International) since 2018.
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