Haywards Heath hospital lead in new study using augmented reality to test for early signs of Alzheimer’s disease

Consultant Neurologist Dr Dennis Chan runs the memory clinic at Princess Royal Hospital, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. He is also a Principal Research Fellow at the University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and was awarded a £2 million research grant from the National Institute of Health and Care Research for this study.

He said: “Current pen and paper tests used in memory clinics may not be detecting Alzheimer’s disease early enough and can be limiting for people with language or cultural differences. Given that PET brain scans and lumbar punctures – which are effective for early diagnosis – are expensive, invasive, and not widely available, there is a need to identify new accurate tests that are simple to use, to help diagnose and treat people with Alzheimer’s disease as early as possible.”