Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, November 21, 2023
Professor of Engineering and biomedical imaging Expert Dr Yifan Chen will lead a highly-skilled, multi-disciplinary team at the University of Waikato.
The University is developing a novel, non-invasive, low-cost microwave scanner to aid ‘point of care’ testing for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).
Dementia is currently the seventh leading cause of death among all diseases and a major cause of disability and dependency worldwide.
Alzheimer’s Disease is its most common form and may contribute to 60-70% of cases.
Devastating Dementia
Dementia is a complex condition that can be both heartbreaking and bewildering. Dementia is not one specific disease, but an umbrella term that is used to describe approximately 100 different illnesses.
This debilitating illness affects a person’s ability to think, reason, and remember. It is a progressive condition that slowly and steadily worsens over time, and it can have a profound impact on a person’s daily life, as well as the lives of their family.
Imagine a library where books gradually disappear from the shelves, leaving only fragments of information scattered throughout the aisles. Similarly, dementia can strip away a person’s memories, knowledge, and personality, leaving them feeling lost and disconnected from the world around them.
Dementia is caused by physical changes in the brain, such as the buildup of abnormal proteins or damage to brain cells, and there are many different types of dementia, each with its unique characteristics and causes. While there is currently no cure for dementia, there are treatments and strategies that can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life.
It is important to understand that dementia is not a normal part of ageing, and seeking medical attention early on can make a significant difference in the progression of the disease.
Dementia affects people of all cultures, intellectual abilities and lifestyles. It is not a normal part of ageing, although the likelihood of getting dementia increases as a person ages. This does not, however, mean that younger people, people aged less than 65, do not also get dementia. Some people may be predisposed to dementia by pre-existing intellectual disability, head injury or family history.
Current diagnosis
The current gold standard of diagnosing and monitoring AD heavily relies on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) β-Amyloid (Aβ) protein detection and CT/MRI/PET scans. However, the use of these methods presents several challenges. For starters, CSF analysis is invasive, CT and PET scans involve ionizing radiation, CT and MRI scans do not detect AD-related pathology, and PET scans are expensive and have limited availability.
This project will develop a new microwave AD scanner (MAS) that is safe, cost-effective, non-invasive, pathologically specific, and portable, differentiating it from currently available imaging equipment and driving uptake in point-of-care applications, where patients can be tested outside an imaging suite or even in the individual’s home. Currently, ultrasound is the only truly portable imaging modality required for point-of-care testing. however, ultrasound has difficulty penetrating the human skull and therefore is not suitable for brain imaging.
“Our new approach will provide improved capability for rapidly diagnosing and monitoring AD while providing direct measurement of AD-related pathology. Our scanner will be made possible through our understanding of the imaging potential of chirality (handedness) of Aβ protein,” said Dr Chen.
“This project will generate new knowledge about how we can make use of signal polarization deflection properties correlated with Aβ chirality to detect and locate Aβ in the human brain. Our research will drive new manufacturing capability in New Zealand for the MAS and its IP-rich hardware system.”
The Funding
The project has received funding of $ 1 million for three years under the Endeavour – Smart Ideas funding mechanism, facilitated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to catalyse and rapidly test promising, innovative research ideas with high potential for benefit to New Zealand, to refresh and enable diversity in the science portfolio.
The project will be one of the six ‘Smart Ideas Projects’ that have been awarded grants at the University of Waikato through the highly contested fund.
About the expert
Dr Yifan Chen is an internationally recognised academic leader, with a demonstrated history of working in renowned universities in China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the United States.
He has pioneered the emerging field of computational nano-bio-sensing, which involves smart tumour targeting using nanorobots. These nanorobots perform ‘agile’ searches for tumours by learning from the biological environment. He has also made a significant contribution to the technological, clinical and commercialisation advancement in the area of microwave medical imaging and sensing.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
