A Method to Calculate Centiloid Values Without Additional Head-to-Head Scans

What is it about?

Alzheimer’s disease is often studied using brain scans called amyloid PET scans, which can show harmful protein buildup in the brain. To compare results across different hospitals and research centers, scientists use a common unit called the Centiloid scale. However, the traditional Centiloid method requires extra head-to-head scans of the same people with different tracers, which is costly and difficult to perform. It also mainly provides a single overall value for the whole brain, making it hard to capture differences across brain regions. In this study, we developed a new method called ComBat-Centiloid. Our method does not require any extra head-to-head scans. It can calculate Centiloid values that are directly comparable with the existing Centiloid system, ensuring consistency across studies. In addition, it can also provide Centiloid values for individual brain regions, offering more detailed information about how Alzheimer’s disease develops in different parts of the brain. This approach makes it easier, cheaper, and more reliable for research centers worldwide to share and compare Alzheimer’s brain imaging data, which may help speed up progress in early diagnosis and treatment research.

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Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash

Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash