Grant: Proof of Principle Program - Phase I

We have recently developed custom tablet technology for use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems to record brain activity. There is strong interest in commercializing this technology, initially so that neuroscientists can use the tablet in completely new experiments to unravel how the brain functions during fine finger movements, writing or the artistic process. In the long term, there is a much larger medical market for the technology, which will assist drug companies in developing new treatments for brain disease, and will enable medical doctors to detect, diagnose and monitor brain disease progression as well as response to treatment. In this proposal, we will perform functional MRI of healthy individuals, and patients with early signs of memory problems, including those with Alzheimer's Disease. We will develop analysis tools to highlight whether the combined brain and behavioural profile of individual patients is different from healthy adults, towards establishing the usefulness of the technology in medicine.