by Astrid Fiano, reporter

Neuronetrix has recently introduced a pioneering brain scanning system called COGNISION(TM), which accurately detects indicators of Alzheimer's disease. The system assesses brainwaves through a technology known as event-related potentials (ERP's). COGNISION(TM) has been implemented in a study of Alzheimer patients beginning this year in the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. Following the initial study, the system will be evaluated at various Alzheimer's Centers of Excellence throughout the country. The Sanders-Brown Center is one of 32 such Centers.

COGNISION(TM)'s particular system is innovative in being the first approved scan to directly measure the cognitive abilities of the patient. The founders of Neuronetrix have noted that one of the major difficulties in Alzheimer's treatment is the gap between onset of the disease and diagnoses, due to the challenges in diagnoses. Standard Alzheimer's tests use surrogate biomarkers that do not always accurately correlate with the disease. (Other measures include mental status testing and autopsy.) COGNISION(TM)'s direct measure actually detects cognitive deficits that are known to be Alzheimer's related.

The brain scan involves an intricate headset that records brain activity in response to auditory stimulus. After patients complete the scan, the data received is analyzed through a database containing a pattern recognition engine. This database links the patients' ERP scans with previously known Alzheimer's brainwave patterns.

Alzheimer's Disease is one of the major medical conditions concerning the U.S. as the baby-boomer population ages and enjoys longer life spans. Approximately five million Americans have Alzheimer's, and 500,000 new diagnoses are made each year. Medicaid/Medicare payments on Alzheimer's patients tops $100 billion. The Center for Disease Control has listed Alzheimer's as the seventh leading cause of death in the nation. In treating Alzheimer's, drugs such as Aricept(R) are considered to be most effective when taken early in the disease's onset. Therefore COGNISION(TM)'s breakthrough in brainwave detection offers new hope in efforts to slow the progress of the killer disease.