From research to clinical practice: Expert consensus on Neuroimaging AI tools for the Memory clinic (Neuro-AIM)

Although AI tools for neuroimaging show considerable promise in the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of neurodegenerative disorders, their uptake in memory clinics has been limited. A key barrier is lack of consensus on their effective design and implementation. Here we establish expert consensus on the specific goals, usage and challenges of AI tools for neuroimaging in the memory clinic using a Delphi process.

Sixteen experts from clinical, academic, and industry backgrounds participated in three rounds of questionnaires, coordinated by the Imaging Working Group of the Deep Dementia Phenotyping (DEMON) network, with support from a patient and public involvement representative. Consensus was reached on eight statements covering four themes: purpose, quality, interactions with clinicians and memory clinics, and privacy and ethics. Implementation of these recommendations will further the adoption of AI neuroimaging tools from research to clinical practice, improving diagnostic and care pathways for patient benefit.

We thank Dr Michiel Larmuseau for participating in the panel. This work was supported by the DEMON Network, which receives funding from Alzheimer's Research UK. This research was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Center (NIHR203312) and a Francqui Start Up Grant awarded to R.B.

N.C. is funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The study was designed and performed within the DEMON Network.

No sponsor or funder had any role in the data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit for publication. These authors contributed equally: Natasha Clarke, Mathias Huybrechts. These authors jointly supervised this work: Timothy Rittman, Rose Bruffaerts.

Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada Computational Neurology, Experimental Neurobiology Unit (ENU), Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK Population Data Science, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Swansea, UK Clinical Scientific Computing, Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada Institute of Nuclear Medicine, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK AI supported Modeling in Clinical Sciences (AIMS), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy Department of Neurology, AZ Sint-Jan Brugge, Brugge, Belgium Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Partner, London, UK University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK University Hospital of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium Biomedical Research Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium A.T. is an employee and options holder at Perceiv AI. D.S. is CTO at Icometrix and has received payment or honoraria from Mount Sinai Hospital. M.V. has received payment or honoraria from Eisai, serves on the Advisory Board for the Dutch Alzheimer’s Association, and is a Board member of the European Society of Neuroradiology.