New Delhi: Centre for Brain Research at IISc has launched an AI challenge for researchers across Indian institutions to develop predictive models for dementia using large-scale brain ageing datasets, including longitudinal cohort data from India.
The six-month programme—in partnership with Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative (AD Data Initiative) and Microsoft Research India (MSR India)—is a mission to understand and improve ageing brain health.
In a rigorous five-month selection process, the teams can start working on the projects in August, and the winners will be announced in February 2027. CBR director professor KVS Hari said that an early detection of the onset of cognitive decline can help in making strategies that can benefit senior citizens.
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AI as potential game changer
Researchers and innovators based in India and Indian institutions can apply for the programme. The challenge is to develop AI models to predict the development of mild cognitive impairment or dementia and understand disease progression.
“The use of AI could be a potential game-changer to unravel hidden connections in our understanding of cognitive decline. This challenge is about the future and CBR’s commitment to transforming the lives of millions using discovery and innovation. We invite India’s sharpest minds to join CBR’s mission to understand and improve ageing brain health,” said Hari.
Submissions are open from 20 April to 31 May. The winner will be awarded Rs 2 crore to further pursue and develop a solution.
AI has created possibilities that need to be applied in several aspects of the research space, said Senapathy Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys, chairman of Axilor Ventures and trustee of Pratiksha Trust.
“The possibilities that are created with the AI revolution need to be applied in all aspects of research in this space, be it better predictions, better research and better treatments becoming available. I am excited to see this AI Challenge with our partners being kicked off to engage the best of AI thinking from India through open science, ethical sharing of data, and collaborative problem solving,” Gopalakrishnan added.
CBR envisions building data analytic capacity with this challenge. The information collected from multi-modal data will be used to develop AI models.
“We are excited to support this collaboration as a research partner and join forces on creating advanced research-based technologies and translating these from the lab into meaningful real-world impact, particularly in the early detection of cognitive decline,” said Dr Venkat Padmanabhan, managing director, MSR India.
Several studies have been published in journals studying the effectiveness of AI models in detecting dementia.
A study published in the Journal of Biomedical Informatics in March 2022 pointed out AI’s promising role in identifying early-stage dementia through digital biomarkers.
Another paper, ‘Applications of artificial intelligence in dementia research’, was published in December 2022. It focused on the role of AI in diagnosis and tracking disease progression.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)