Research: New AI-powered Tool for Early Dementia Screening
 | By Sanjay Devaraja, Editor, LKCMedicine's Redefine Newsletter |
As of 2021, around 86,000 people in Singapore were living with dementia—a number expected to nearly double to more than 150,000 by 2030, driven by the country’s rapidly ageing population. Globally, dementia affects over 55 million individuals, with nearly 10 million new cases each year, according to the World Health Organization.
In Western countries, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. However, in Asia, dementia is often linked to vascular issues in the brain, such as silent strokes. This means that early detection efforts in Asian populations must go beyond memory testing alone.
During the early stages of dementia, individuals may face mild memory difficulties or struggle with tasks that require complex thinking or decision-making. These early symptoms are often subtle and easy to overlook, which makes timely diagnosis difficult. Conventional diagnostic methods, such as neuropsychological testing and MRI scans, remain the gold standard—but they are expensive, time-consuming, and not easily scalable.
To address this challenge, LKCMedicine developed ReCOGnAIze, an innovative AI-powered screening tool capable of detecting early cognitive decline in just 15 minutes through a series of neuroscience-based games. Initial clinical trials show that the tool can detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with up to 90% accuracy.
The tool includes four specially designed games that assess cognitive and behavioural domains critical to early dementia detection. These were developed from over 125,000 hours of research conducted by the Dementia Research Centre (Singapore) at LKCMedicine.
ReCOGnAIze’s underlying algorithm allows for rapid, accurate screening, with strong relevance particularly in Asia, where over 250 million people with chronic vascular conditions like hypertension are at risk of developing MCI. This highlights how dementia presents differently in Asian populations compared to the West.
The tool was developed by Associate Professor Nagaendran Kandiah, Director of the Dementia Research Centre (Singapore), and his team, following three years of dedicated research.
“Our AI-powered tool offers a fast, accessible, and cost-effective way to detect MCI early. This allows for timely intervention, which can significantly enhance quality of life. In ageing societies like Singapore, where dementia is on the rise, such tools are vital for early diagnosis and tailored care,” said Assoc Prof Kandiah.
Validated through the Biomarkers and Cognition Study, Singapore (BIOCIS), involving 230 participants, ReCOGnAIze demonstrated 89% accuracy in detecting MCI when compared against biomarkers and neuroimaging results.
Now licensed to Gray Matter Solutions, a spin-off company co-founded by Assoc Prof Kandiah and NTU alumnus Mohammed Adnan Azam, ReCOGnAIze marks a new chapter in dementia care. In collaboration with Osler Group, a premium health and wellness provider in Singapore, the company is making MCI screening more affordable and accessible through AI.
Gray Matter Solutions is part of NTU’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship initiative and is working to deliver an end-to-end platform for the detection, diagnosis, and management of cognitive disorders. Looking ahead, the company plans to expand its AI-based offerings to include mass screenings at community events and collaborative programmes with healthcare providers both in and out of Singapore.