Scientists invent new equipment for early detection of Alzheimer's disease

[ Instrument R & D of Instrument Network ] It is understood that biomedical engineers at Duke University have designed a new imaging device that can measure the thickness and texture of different layers of the retina at the back of the eye. This progress can be used to detect biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and may provide a broad early warning system for the disease. The results of this study were published online on May 13 in the journal Scientific Reports. What is Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's disease, also known as Alzheimer's disease, is a progressive and degenerative neurological disease that develops insidiously. According to clinical records, this disease manifests as comprehensive dementia features such as memory impairment, aphasia, apraxia, loss of recognition, impairment of visual skills, executive dysfunction, and personality and behavior changes. It can be said that this is a kind of physical and mental Diseases that have been devastated and lost dignity. For many years, scientists have been exploring hard to fight this disease, but the cause has not yet been identified.

The etiology of Alzheimer's disease has not been fixed for a long time, and there is also great controversy in the medical community. From the current research, there are more than 30 possible factors and hypotheses of the disease, such as family history, women, head trauma, low education level, thyroid disease, maternal childbearing age is too high or too low, viral infections and so on. Although the cause can not be determined, it is known that the loss of neurons and synapses caused by the disease can cause cognitive impairment and dementia, affect the quality of life of patients, and the severity of the disease is self-evident.

Currently, the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is performed only after the patient begins to show symptoms of cognitive decline. Even so, the only way to determine the cause of Alzheimer's disease is to use expensive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and PET scans, or through autopsy. However, if early interventions such as drugs and mental exercise can be used to stop the progression of the disease, the patient's quality of life will be greatly improved.

To this end, scientists invented new equipment for early detection of Alzheimer's disease, adding time to patient treatment. This new device is a multi-mode coherent imaging technique that combines optical coherence tomography with angle-resolved low-coherence interferometry. Their research data shows that the changes in the texture of the retina have the potential to be an early biomarker for Alzheimer's disease, and the combined imaging system developed by it provides a unique analysis function, which will make the detection of pathological retina easier and more direct.

Adam Wax, a professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, said: "Previous studies have found that the retina of Alzheimer's disease patients has become thinner, but by adding light scattering technology to the measurement, we have found that the retinal nerve fiber layer is also rougher and disordered. The brain can be easily accessed through the retina, and its thinning may indicate a decrease in the amount of nerve tissue, which may mean the presence of Alzheimer's disease.

Best of all, it must be said that other diseases such as glaucoma and Parkinson's disease can also cause thinning of the retina. However, we cannot ignore the importance of new equipment. In the hands of professionals, it is a new equipment that can be used for early detection of Alzheimer's disease.