Oxford Brain Diagnostics awarded £1.4m to test technology in NHS

Interviews are conducted by The Oxford Trust to give insight into the science and tech businesses they support in their innovation centres: the Oxford Centre for Innovation and the Wood Centre for Innovation.

Based in our Oxford Centre for Innovation, Oxford Brain Diagnostics (OBD) wins £1.4m funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to test Alzheimer’s diagnostics in the NHS.

A spinout from the University of Oxford, Oxford Brain Diagnostics, run by Dr Steven Change (see photo above), is a software company focused on developing diagnostics based on changes in the brain at cellular level. The project will assess Cortical Disarray Measurement, or CDM, as a tool to diagnose mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease. The grant highlights the critical need for continued investment in the UK for dementia and to explore breakthrough technologies that can support improved diagnostics. The CDM software device was awarded Breakthrough Device designation by the FDA in August 2020.

Alzeheimer’s remains a complex condition so examining MRI scan data from the NHS at the earliest stages of the disease provides a valuable opportunity to estimate patient progress, assess the future economic impact patients will have in long-term care, provide valuable time for families to adjust, and get access to new drug treatments

The multi-centre project is led by Oxford Brain Diagnostics but includes the University of Oxford Health Economics Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, NIHR community Healthcare MedTech and IVD Cooperative Cardif & the Vale University Health Board, Cardiff, Southampton, South Wales universities and Bournemouth University Institute of Medical Imaging and Visualisation.

For more information on Oxford Brain Diagnostics, see here  Follow the links to find out more about the Oxford Centre for Innovation and its sister site the Wood Centre for Innovation.