ULTRA-FAST SCAN CAN BOOST DEMENTIA DIAGNOSIS RATES

Revolutionary new MRI procedure will double health service capacity for tests

- Hanna Geissler

A BREAKTHROUGH in scan times for dementia is set to boost diagnosis rates by doubling NHS capacity for the tests.

In pioneering research, scientists developed ultra-fast MRI scans, cutting the time that patients need to spend in the machine from 2030 minutes to fewer than seven. Guidelines recommend using structural imaging to rule out other causes of cognitive decline or to help pinpoint the type of dementia. Many patients currently do not have a scan while those who do are more likely to be given computerised tomography (CT) scans which provide less detailed images.

The latest technique may let hospitals offer magnetic resonance imaging scans to twice as many people with suspected dementia, dramatically increasing access to the technology.

Neurology expert Prof Nick Fox, whose team pioneered the method at University College London's functional imaging laboratory, said: "This is really exciting.

"It means that we can make MRI scans that people deserve to have - much, much more available.

"One in three people don't get a dementia diagnosis at all, we estimate. And, for those people who do, there are long delays and the recommendation that everybody should have a scan doesn't happen.

"This could at the very least double the number of MRI scans we can do." Prof Fox added: "There's no reason why this approach can't be used across nearly all scanners in hospitals in the UK." The Express was invited to try both scans and join the study, which was funded by Alzheimer’s Society. Magnetic resonance imaging uses a magnet to align protons in the body. They are then knocked out of alignment by pulses of radiowaves.

As the protons realign, sensors detect the energy released to gather information about the type of tissue then convert it to images.

Lying still in the machine can be very challenging for patients who are claustrophobic or have memory problems and may forget to do so.