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Mayo Clinic offers new tool for dementia diagnosis

Researchers say it offers unprecedented accuracy and speed

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Mark Huffman
Reporter

Mark Huffman has covered consumer issues since 2004, with a special focus on protecting and empowering older adults. A former news correspondent for the Associated Press Radio Network, Westwood One, and ConsumerAffairs, Mark brings decades of journalistic experience to RetirementLiving.com. He is passionate about giving consumers a voice and helping them make informed decisions. Mark has also created educational content, including Senior Scam Alert, a video resource designed to help seniors recognize and avoid fraud. He holds a B.A. from the University of Kentucky and lives with his family in Richmond, Virginia.

Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

Key Insights

  • AI tool identifies 9 dementia types from a single scan with 88% accuracy
  • Mayo Clinic’s StateViewer doubles diagnostic speed, triples clinician accuracy
  • Breakthrough supports earlier, more precise dementia care in everyday clinics

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed an artificial intelligence tool that may transform the early and accurate diagnosis of dementia, a condition affecting over 55 million people around the world. 

The new system, called StateViewer, helps clinicians rapidly detect nine distinct types of dementia from a single, widely accessible brain scan. Researchers say it offers unprecedented accuracy and speed.

The tool is described in detail in a study published in Neurology, the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology. StateViewer was shown to identify the specific type of dementia in 88% of cases. It does this by analyzing fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scans, which illustrate how the brain metabolizes glucose — a key indicator of brain activity patterns.

The study found that StateViewer not only matches or surpasses expert performance in complex cases but also dramatically reduces the time and effort required. Clinicians using the tool interpreted scans nearly twice as fast, with up to three times the accuracy compared to traditional methods.

A potential for widespread use

One of the most transformative aspects of StateViewer is its potential to extend high-level diagnostic support beyond major medical centers. Its intuitive interface generates color-coded brain activity maps, making it easier for general practitioners and non-neurology clinicians to understand and act on scan results.

Scientists say this innovation is particularly timely as new dementia treatments emerge that are most effective in the early stages. Many patients are currently diagnosed too late, in part because existing workflows often require specialist referrals and complex testing. StateViewer bridges that gap by enabling timely diagnosis and more targeted treatment decisions.

Transforming brain patterns into clear insights

Each FDG-PET scan is compared against a large database of confirmed dementia cases, helping the AI learn to distinguish conditions such as:

  • Alzheimer’s disease — affecting memory and cognition
  • Lewy body dementia — impairing movement and attention
  • Frontotemporal dementia — impacting language and behavior

By mapping these patterns visually, StateViewer removes much of the diagnostic guesswork, even in cases involving multiple overlapping conditions — a common and confounding reality for clinicians.

Mayo Clinic researchers are actively expanding the tool’s clinical reach and continuing performance evaluations in diverse medical settings. With its demonstrated success, they believe StateViewer could become a cornerstone in dementia diagnosis, changing the trajectory for millions of patients and families facing these debilitating diseases.