About this project

Dementia is currently diagnosed too late, up to 20 years after the disease has begun. Quicker, more accurate ways to diagnose dementia are greatly needed so patients can get treatments earlier and plan for their future. Our aim is to improve early diagnosis using a new way of measuring brain function in the early stages of dementia (Fastball).

Pen and paper tests are used to help diagnose dementia, but they have many problems. They cannot detect the earliest signs of dementia or tell different forms of dementia apart. Additionally, anxiety, language and educational ability can affect people’s scores.

Electroencephalography (EEG) measures brain activity using cheap, easy-to-use headsets. We have developed a technique called Fastball, which involves showing a person some pictures to remember, and then showing the pictures to them at a very fast rate, mixed up amongst pictures they have not seen.

Using Electroencephalography (EEG), which measures brain activity using easy-to-use headsets, we can see brain waves from areas of the brain that recognise images, to show whether the person remembers the pictures or not.

Project team and partners

This is a collaborative project led by the Department of Psychology, in partnership with the University of Bristol, University College London (UCL), Cumulus Neuroscience Ltd., and the North Bristol NHS Trust.

Project team

• Dr George Stothart (Co-Chief Investigator), University of Bath
• Dr Liz Coulthard (Co-Chief Investigator), University of Bristol
• Dr Brian Murphy, Cumulus Neuroscience Ltd.
• Dr Amanda Heslegrave, University College London
• Sophie Alderman, University of Bath
• Dr Julie Clayton, University of Bristol
• Dr Sam Creavin, University of Bristol
• Dr Joanna Thorne, University of Bristol
• Amanda Threlfall
• Nicholas Turner, University of Bristol

Project design and methods

We have already shown that Fastball can detect the early stages of dementia, and it works whatever language the person speaks, how educated or nervous they are.

We plan to use Fastball in a dementia clinic at Southmead Hospital, Bristol. Everyone who attends the clinic will have a chance to try the Fastball test, as well as their usual tests and care. We then will use the data to see if we can diagnose dementia earlier and more accurately than pen and paper tests.

We will also try Fastball in two GP surgeries to learn how and where we could use Fastball in the NHS, and work with economists to estimate how much it could save the NHS in the future.

Dissemination

A big part of this project is to also develop Fastball as a commercial product so that it can be available throughout the NHS.

We are partnering with Cumulus Neuroscience Ltd. to develop and distribute Fastball tests nationally on their cutting-edge EEG platform.

This preparation will mean that once we have shown Fastball is reliable and effective, we will be ready to roll out Fastball and make a real difference to dementia diagnosis.