Faster MRI scans could help end dementia diagnosis ‘postcode lottery’

Faster MRI scans could help end the “postcode lottery” of dementia diagnosis by cutting costs and making the scans more widely available, a study has suggested.

Brain scans help diagnose dementia alongside memory tests and blood tests, but because MRI scans are expensive, very few patients are offered them.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) have developed a way of running the brain scans to achieve the same results in a third of the time - potentially doubling the number of dementia scans able to be done in a day and lowering the cost.

Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “While MRIs aren’t the only way to diagnose dementia, very few people with concerns about their cognitive health are offered one as part of the diagnosis process, mainly because they are expensive and not widely available.

“These faster MRIs, which take less than half the time of standard scans, could help end this postcode lottery in dementia diagnosis, cut costs and potentially give more people access to them.”

There are currently estimated to be 982,000 people with dementia in the UK, but more than a third of people with the condition do not have a diagnosis. One in four people have to wait two years before getting help for dementia symptoms and starting medication.

Emerging treatments such as lecanemab and donanemab require an MRI scan before starting the medication, and for safety monitoring during the course of treatment. 

Reducing the cost of scanning would also contribute to lowering the total cost of delivering these treatments.

Professor Nick Fox, at UCL’s Institute of Neurology, said: “As more treatments that can slow or change the course of dementia are being developed, it's important to make sure MRI scans are available to everyone. This is because people living with dementia often need an MRI scan as part of their diagnosis before they can access these treatments.

“To help make this possible, our team carried out the first study looking at how new imaging techniques - called parallel imaging - could speed up MRI scans in clinics. Their goal is to move closer to a future where every person with dementia can get a diagnosis through a scan.”

The study, published in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia, aimed to understand the reliability of fast MRI scans compared to standard-of-care clinical scans.

Researchers at UCL scanned 92 people aged between 50 and 90 years old as part of their routine clinical assessment.

The accelerated scans were updated to run in six minutes, 29 seconds, in comparison to the traditional scan which takes 17 minutes, 39 seconds.

Three neuroradiologists, who weren't aware whether they were looking at fast or standard scans, compared the results.

The team found that the quicker scans, which reduced time in the scanner by 63 per cent, were as reliable as the standard scans for diagnosis and visual ratings.

Researchers will now build on their early results by making sure the approach works across different types of MRI machines, so it can benefit as many hospitals and clinics as possible.