Brainreader’s new neuroimaging software, Neuroreader, can determine changes in a patient’s brain volume faster than traditional methods, according to research recently published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Brain volume changes help physicians diagnose degenerative brain diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and depression.

Radiologists usually analyze brain MR images visually, but it can take a long time, especially when there are small changes in brain volume. Traditional methods typically take 30 minutes per scan, but Neuroreader only takes five minutes.

“For more than 30 years, since the development of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner, the MRI has been the go-to test equipment to find abnormalities in brain volume, which provides strong indication of brain trauma or disease,” Dr. Oscar Lopez of the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Neurology, said in a statement. “Neuroreader adds value to any MRI scanner by providing fast and accurate measurements of brain structure.”
Physicians upload an MR image to the Brainreader server and Neuroreader evaluates the image and generates a report that shows what brain structures’ volumes are abnormal and to what extent. The information that Neuroreader presents is FDA approved, unlike competitive software.

Two studies investigating Neuroreader were conducted independently in Denmark and at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The researchers compared the results of 1.5 T and 3.0 T MR scans processed by Neuroreader with scans that were traced manually by expert anatomists and radiologists.

They found that Neuroreader was on average over 87 percent accurate in agreement with the traditional method, but could detect changes in brain volume much faster.

Neuroreader can measure 45 specific structures within the brain, including the hippocampus. Measuring the hippocampus is important because it determines whether the patient has strong cognitive function or not.

"Measuring the size of the hippocampus is the single most important factor in determining a person's prognosis for having strong memory performance in the future," Dr. Majid Fotuhi, chairman of the NeuroGrow Brain Fitness Center, McLean and Johns Hopkins Medicine, said in a statement. "That's where the Neuroreader comes in. It's a major breakthrough in establishing an accurate measurement of this part of the brain."

Neuroreader can also help physicians determine which patients do not have Alzheimer’s. Many patients with psychiatric disorders but not Alzheimer’s have cognitive problems, according to Dr. David Merrill, a geriatric psychiatrist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. Fotuhi believes that in the future, it will become routine for patients and their physicians to know the volume of their hippocampus and to have it checked on a regular basis.

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