{"id":22222,"date":"2017-10-02T15:26:31","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T19:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=22222"},"modified":"2019-03-12T12:29:01","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T16:29:01","slug":"university-of-maryland-diagnostic-alzheimers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/university-of-maryland-diagnostic-alzheimers\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Maryland Undergraduates Develop Revolutionary Diagnostic Tool for Alzheimer\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

A team of seven undergraduate students from the <\/span>James A. Clark School of Engineering<\/span><\/a> at the University of Maryland (UMD) has <\/span>invented a diagnostic tool<\/span><\/a> capable of diagnosing Alzheimer\u2019s disease before the symptoms show, which could revolutionize healthcare for patients with Alzheimer\u2019s. <\/span><\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s disease is the <\/span>sixth leading cause of death<\/span><\/a> in the U.S. today, killing more people each year than breast and prostate cancer combined, but current methods of diagnosing the disease are deficient. PET scans, MRIs and spinal taps are costly and invasive at times so these methods are often used only after patients display clear symptoms of the disease, which means it could sometimes take as long as two years for them to receive the proper diagnosis. By then, the disease would often have spread and made the patient\u2019s condition much worse. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s fortunate therefore that the UMD team — known as \u201cSynapto\u201d — has come up with a cheaper and more effective solution. The team has created a portable electroencephalogram (EEG) that detects dementia symptoms, before these symptoms show, through the combination of a headset and a tool for mathematical software analysis. It utilizes the changes in the brainwaves of patients as they respond to specific auditory tones. These results are then compared to the brainwaves of healthy people using the same analytical tools. <\/span><\/p>\n