Nine new technologies, including faster MRI brain scans and a remote cognitive assessment, will be tested in the NHS as part of a government drive to diagnose dementia faster.
Backed by up to £80 million, the goal is for 92% of people to be diagnosed within 18 weeks of a referral, up from around 60% today with diagnosis often taking more than a year.
The projects will undergo real-world testing and only get more funding by proving they’re working, speeding up the process of getting what works to patients.
Funded by the UK government through UK Research and Innovation’s Research and Development Missions Accelerator Programme (R&D MAP), it aims to help people and their families:
- get an earlier and more accurate diagnosis of dementia
- better understand what a dementia diagnosis means for their lives
Reducing impact on the NHS
Early diagnosis can reduce the likelihood of emergency hospital admissions and delay the need for greater care support, reducing the impact of dementia on services within the NHS.
It may also allow patients to receive treatment sooner, and make informed decisions about work, care, finances, and family life.
Nine projects have been chosen to move into real-world testing in the NHS.
Only those that prove they work will go on to receive further challenge funding, so funding goes where it makes the biggest difference to patients.
Science Minister Chris McDonald said:
Dementia is a desperately cruel condition, robbing sufferers of their memories and family of precious time with their loved ones.
Science gives us the hope that we can change that, which is why we are backing projects that can spot the signs earlier, such as tests which look at how people process sounds and speech to identify changes in the brain.
This work by brilliant UK researchers could be transformative in getting people the early treatment they need; improving the quality of life for people across our country.
Focusing on dementia
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Health Mission Challenge Director Andy Hill said:
By developing better diagnostic and prognostic tools, we can help people living with dementia understand and manage their symptoms, get earlier access to treatment and plan for their futures.
That will mean better lives for people living with dementia and for their family and carers.
More people die as consequence of dementia than any other disease in the United Kingdom, accounting for almost one in eight deaths.
In 2025, over 72,000 people across the UK died from dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s a disease that causes untold suffering for patients and their families.
That’s why the dementia is the first condition the UKRI R&D MAP’s Health Mission is focusing on.
The research projects
The projects include the following.
University College London and UK Dementia Research Institute
The research is looking at reducing MRI scan times from around 20 minutes to around seven minutes, giving more patients access to diagnostic MRI scans, reducing costs and enhancing patient experience.
University of Exeter
Researchers are integrating a digital platform into the NHS that enables people to monitor changes in their cognitive health and be seen at the right time.
UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research & Technology Centre at Imperial College London
Researchers are creating a home-monitoring platform (Minder) that uses unobtrusive sensors in the home and linked artificial intelligence to support earlier dementia intervention, personalised care and proactive management.
University of Oxford and Dementias Platform UK
Researchers are integrating a panel of blood-based dementia biomarkers (validated in the Blood Biomarker Challenge-funded READ-OUT study) into routine NHS memory services.
The aim is to improve diagnostic accuracy and maximise the benefit for patients and the NHS.
Cognitron
Cognitron is improving the speed, accuracy and accessibility of dementia diagnosis using a 15-minute remote digital cognitive assessment.
University of Bristol
Researchers at the University of Bristol are introducing routine sleep apnoea screening and improved access to treatment for everyone referred to memory assessment services to improve the accuracy of dementia diagnoses
Queen Mary University of London
Researchers are supporting earlier dementia detection and monitoring by assessing how the brain processes sound via a digital diagnostic tool using a standard home computer and headphones.
University of Cambridge
Researchers at the University of Cambridge are improving how dementia is diagnosed and treated using an AI-enabled clinical decision support tool.
The tool analyses routinely collected data (medical records, blood tests, cognitive tests) to predict progression for people at risk of dementia.
The University of Edinburgh and NHS Research Scotland
Researchers are redesigning Scotland’s dementia diagnosis and treatment services to provide faster, better quality and more consistent diagnosis across the country, and ‘living labs’ to test new biomarkers and treatments.
Delivering the challenge
To deliver the challenge while identifying, developing, validating, and implementing clinical interventions and technological innovations for the NHS and social care, UKRI is partnering with:
- industry
- academia
- the NHS
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- the Health Innovation Network
- the third sector
- people with lived experience of dementia
UKRI is adopting a fail-fast approach for this programme, where projects need to achieve results and reach milestones to receive funding so only those showing real promise continue to receive support.
This is a move away from UKRI’s traditional model of awarding single grants for longer term projects.
The aim is to ensure results and impacts are delivered quickly, and the highest-potential projects get ongoing support.
Supporting ground breaking research
Minister of State for Health Karin Smyth said:
We know how important it is to get a timely dementia diagnosis, so people can manage their symptoms and access life-improving support sooner.
Dementia has been neglected for far too long.
But this government is supporting the kind of ground breaking research projects that give us all hope of a future where loved ones stay with us for longer, with more joy and more life to live.
A game changer
Dr Richard Oakley, Associate Director of Research and Innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said:
At any one time one in three people living with dementia in the UK do not have a diagnosis, meaning they are missing out on treatment, support and opportunities to take part in research.
The Dementia Challenge could be a game changer and shorten the path to diagnosis by testing and rapidly scaling innovative technologies in real NHS settings.
Alzheimer’s Society is proud to support the Dementia Challenge and help turn promising innovations into real improvements for people affected by dementia.
Now the Government must match this ambition by introducing a national 18-week target from referral to diagnosis.
A great step forward
Thomas, from Dorset, who has personal experience of dementia and supported with the UKRI Dementia Challenge application process. Thomas said:
I strongly support this bold and exciting initiative, to significantly improve early NHS dementia diagnosis in the UK.
Currently it takes too long to obtain a diagnosis, detracting from valuable time to seek relevant support, medical choices and address legal matters.
After witnessing the deteriorating demise of my grandmother, and later in life with my mother, I fully support this great step forward for the dementia community.
Faster diagnosis is essential
Hilary Evans-Newton CBE, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK and Chair of the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals Programme, said:
Too many families wait more than a year for a dementia diagnosis. This is about changing that, and fast.
By testing new technologies and backing only those that work, we can get the best innovations into the NHS far sooner.
Faster, accurate diagnosis is also essential as new medicines work best early in the disease.
A cure is in sight but only research will deliver it.
This investment is an important step towards a future where dementia is diagnosed quickly and treatments that can change the course of the disease, delivered.
Adding value to patients
Andrew Walsh, Associate Director, NICE Advice said:
NICE Advice is proud to be supporting this initiative with system partners.
The projects are interesting and could add value to patients and their families through real world testing in the NHS in England and the devolved nations.
We look forward to helping them develop their evidence generation strategies.
Important step towards high-quality dementia care
Henry Simmons, Alzheimer Scotland’s Chief Executive said:
Alzheimer Scotland welcomes this investment in innovative approaches to improving dementia diagnosis.
We are particularly pleased to see Scotland playing a key role through the work of the University of Edinburgh and NHS Research Scotland to deliver faster, more consistent diagnosis and better support for people living with dementia.
This is an important step towards the high-quality dementia care pathway that people with dementia, their families and carers deserve.