Holistic Optical Biomarkers to Transform Dementia Diagnosis (HOpE)

Our proposal introduces an exciting advancement in medical technology aimed at revolutionising the early detection and management of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. At the heart of our project is the development of the MX-Raman technique, a novel laser-based diagnostic tool. This innovative, efficient and affordable approach promises the ability for differential diagnosis of dementia in the earliest stages, potentially years before symptoms become apparent. By utilising a minimally invasive procedure, a simple finger prick test or even a nasal swab, MX-Raman is poised to redefine our approach to combating neurodegenerative diseases.

Context and Challenge

The challenge of accurately diagnosing dementia in its early stages is profound and has implications for the implementation of newly emerging dementia therapies. Current diagnostic methods, primarily based on imaging and cerebrospinal fluid analysis, are expensive, invasive, and often fail to detect the disease until it has significantly progressed. Though newer blood-based diagnostic tests are being developed, they currently focus on detection of Alzheimer's disease, and not other related dementias. This limits the effectiveness and implementation of potential dementia-specific disease-modifying treatments. Our novel MX-Raman based diagnostic test addresses this gap by providing a holistic optical biomarker or a biochemical 'fingerprint', from multiple biofluids including CSF and plasma. We believe that this optical biomarker will accurately stratify patients based on the type of dementia they have, as the chemical composition and therefore biochemical 'fingerprint' of each biofluid will be disease specific. Crucially, this can be achieved without the need for extensive sample processing or the use of labels, which are common limitations of current methodologies, restricting their translation potential.

Interdisciplinary Approach

A key feature of this research is its entirely interdisciplinary nature, merging expertise from neurology, optics, computer science, and biochemistry to tackle the complex challenge of early differential diagnosis of dementia. Our team comprises clinicians, biomedical scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, all collaborating to augment and validate the MX-Raman technique. This collaborative effort is essential for developing a diagnostic tool that is not only effective across various forms of dementia but is user-friendly, clinically meaningful and adaptable to different settings, from research laboratories to clinical environments.



Aims and Objectives

Our project aims to:

- Demonstrate disease-specific, differential diagnostic potential of MX-Raman for early-stage dementia.

- Develop and employ advanced computational analytics to enhance the technique's accuracy and predictive capabilities across various biofluids, especially minimally invasive blood and nasal fluids.

- Develop a scalable, portable prototype device to facilitate the deployment of MX-Raman and accompanying computational methods in clinical settings.