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Interview: How speech and language software could transform dementia diagnosis
Developed with input from over 13,000 participants a new, AI-powered, speech and language software has the potential to speed-up dementia diagnoses, whilst reducing the cost.
Memory Tell stems from the work of neuroscientist Adolfo Garcia, Co-founder of the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), who, for the last 15 years, has been investigating dementia, digital-biomarkers.
In tandem with Northern Ireland-based, fellow GBHI member Corrina Grimes and materials science engineer Fernando Johann, they launched Memory Tell in August last year.
Speaking to Agetech World Ms Grimes said: “The 2024 Lancet Commission outlined that by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors 45 per cent of dementias are potentially preventable.
“Memory Tell shifts the dial in this regard by helping clinicians move from subjective to objective measurements in diagnosing dementia.”
How does it work?
Dementia diagnoses can be invasive, expensive and time-consuming with some people in the UK having to wait up to two years for clarity on the nature of their condition.
There are a number of methods available to clinicians which include memory tests, brain scans or lumbar punctures.
Memory Tell integrates speech and language-analysis technology to deliver a rapid, objective, and evidence-based assessment for clinicians.
It operates through an algorithm, accessible by a personal computer, with 10 short speech tasks which are analysed for the users pitch, tone, rate of speech, and pauses; their vocabulary, and how it changes over time.
Users are initially asked to describe, in as much detail, a typical day. Then on to questions about the uses of items, such as a ‘car with flat tyres’, and then re-telling the story of a video they have watched.
Ms Grimes said: “Examining people’s speech and language patterns is a much less-intrusive way of providing insights into brain function; the feedback has shown that this is a far more dignified and accurate method of diagnosing dementia.
“People can find the existing pen and paper memory tests very challenging because there may be a question they cannot answer which leaves them feeling embarrassed and humiliated.
“Everyone has their own experience of going to memory clinics. Perhaps, how difficult it is when asked questions with right or wrong answers. Memory Tell is a much better, more dignified approach, one where there’s no right or wrong answers.”
Award success
The platform has been trained with input from 13,000 participants, consisting of those with validated dementia diagnoses, and healthy volunteers. It is currently available in five languages, with more coming on stream.
It is currently being trialled in 12 different research centres in Ireland and New Zealand with the aim of securing the European CE ‘Conformité Européenne’ mark.
This process is expected to take 18 months and cost in the region of £500,000 and once secured will permit Memory Tell access to clinics across the continent and the UK.
Memory Tell has the potential to save time and money as it can be carried- out under the supervision of a technician freeing-up clinical capacity and reducing bottlenecks in a health care system.
Ms Grimes continued: “It aligns perfectly with the NHS focus of hospital to community, analog to digital, and primary to secondary and tertiary prevention.
“The policy makers, clinicians, health service managers and commissioners we speak to are very excited about Memory Tell and this and this bodes well as we look to commercialise the platform.”
The company recently secured £25,000 after winning the annual INVENT awards which showcase new entrepreneurial talent in Northern Ireland’s science and technology sector.
Ms Grimes has worked in the health care system most of her professional life as a clinical dietitian across specialties, including palliative care, and later as National Deputy Director at NHS England.
She is also an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health with GBHI, which was has borne out of the generosity of Irish retail entrepreneur Chuck Feeney, who gave away US$8bn to charity during his life
The GBHI supports the University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College, Dublin, in a mission to ‘reduce the scale and impact of dementia and improve brain health worldwide’.
Ms Grimes added: “Chuck Feeney’s final big bet was to create this fellowship. This was where Adolfo and I met. Adolfo was working on the algorithm in a research setting and our task now is to bring this into frontline health services.”
Canadian life insurer and asset manager Manulife has boosted its presence in the healthy ageing sector with the launch of a US$350m Longevity Institute.
Valued at US$60bn, Manulife has been active in the longevity space for some time and says the new institute will see it fund ‘innovative research, and key industry collaborations’.
Manulife’s chief sustainability officer Ariel Kangasniemi told Agetech World: “Our ambitions go beyond helping our customers to simply add more years to their lives; we’re investing in putting more life in the years.
“Because of this, we’re approaching longevity through different avenues; each one mindful of broader forces, seen and unseen, that influence better outcomes for health and wealth of people.
“The Longevity Institute is a time-bound commitment designed to drive action and insights to meet the trends impacting our industry, customers, and communities, and the challenges and opportunities presented by the growing gap between lifespans and health-spans.”
Manulife serves over 36 million customers, primarily in the North American and Asian markets. It is currently partnered with three key players in the longevity space.
Namely;
-The Canadian National Institute of Ageing
-Milken Institute, of California
-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab
Ms Kangasniemi continued: “The gap between how long people live (lifespan) and their quality of life (healthspan) is widening.
“Backed by our US$350m commitment, the Longevity Institute will reflect both the legacy of our leading partnerships and build new momentum through 2030.
“It will help to unify and scale efforts across our global footprint. The Longevity Institute’s initiatives at launch include ongoing work with the MIT AgeLab, National Institute on Ageing, and Milken Institute.
Key collaborations
In the US Manulife’s creation will be known as the John Hancock Longevity Institute – named after the 19thC entrepreneur-philanthropist – and over the next four years it will deliver an annual ‘first-of-its-kind’ Longevity Preparedness Index.
This aims to measure the readiness of US adults for longer living by examining eight key domains: social connection, finance, daily activities, care, home, community, health, and life transitions.
Manulife is supporting Canada’s National Institute on Ageing’s annual ‘Ageing in Canada Survey in 2026’, in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University.
This will explore the lived experiences of Canadians aged 50-plus to inform policies that promote healthy ageing.
In recent years Manulife has supported the California-based Milken Institute to advance thought leadership and research on the key issues shaping longevity and the future of health.
Ms Kangasniemi added: “Having started with our own research from around the world, we know it’s more likely than not that people think ‘Longevity’ equals lifespan.
‘Putting more life into our years’
“Our ambitions go beyond helping our customers to simply adding more years to their lives; we’re investing in putting more life in the years.
“Because of this, we approach longevity through different avenues – each one mindful of broader forces, seen and unseen, that influence better outcomes for health and wealth of people.
“The Longevity Institute is a time-bound commitment designed to drive action and insights to meet the trends impacting our industry, customers, and communities, and the challenges and opportunities presented by the growing gap between lifespans and healthspans.
“It reflects our commitment to empowering health, wealth, and longevity, which is a core focus of our refreshed enterprise strategy.”
Phil Witherington, president and CEO of Manulife, added: “Empowering health, wealth, and longevity is central to Manulife’s bold new ambition.
“It aligns with our values and our commitment to the communities we operate in, and we are uniquely placed to help individuals and families navigate the growing gap between lifespan and healthspan.
“For generations now, Manulife has supported customers at every stage of life, and we see a powerful opportunity to scale our expertise and help even more people live longer, healthier, better lives.
“Through the Longevity Institute, we will partner with organisations that share our purpose, unlock new insights, drive innovation, and create a future where everyone can thrive – at any age.”
Microdoses of weight loss drugs like Ozempic could slow ageing and increase longevity, according to new research in mice.
The study found that exenatide, a drug with similar chemical make-up to Ozempic, produced molecular changes in mice that opposed typical patterns seen with ageing across multiple organs.
Scientists treated mice starting at 11 months of age with small doses of the drug for about 30 weeks, then compared tissue samples from brain, liver, kidney, muscle and fat.
Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong measured levels of RNA and DNA modifications, proteins and metabolism-related molecules to assess how age-related molecular signatures had changed in each tissue.
The treated mice showed metabolic health consistent with younger animals, with their molecular “age-signature” significantly shifted to a younger-looking profile compared with untreated older mice.
Many of the drug’s positive effects appeared to involve brain activity, suggesting the brain acted as a hub influencing the ageing profiles of multiple organs throughout the body.
Exenatide and semaglutide (sold as Ozempic and Wegovy) are GLP-1 receptor agonists. These medicines mimic a naturally occurring hormone in the gut and brain that regulates appetite, helping people feel fuller for longer.
Originally developed for diabetes treatment, these drugs have surged in popularity for weight loss. A new trend has emerged online with some people reportedly taking very small doses for longevity, though health experts warn the anti-ageing effect has not been proven in humans.
“Our work has provided multifaceted evidence for a comprehensive body-wide anti-ageing strategy,” the researchers wrote. “Future longitudinal studies are necessary to explore whether GLP-1R agonism may complement other anti-ageing methods.”
The study examined multiple biological markers of ageing, including epigenetic modifications (changes to DNA that affect gene activity without altering the genetic code), protein levels and metabolic indicators across different tissues.
The findings showed consistent changes across many tissues that opposed typical ageing patterns. However, researchers emphasised several important limitations to their work.
The results were observed only in mice, not humans, meaning whether the drug has any real effect on human ageing remains unknown. The study was conducted on middle-aged mice, so the effects might not be the same in very old animals.
Additionally, while the drug appeared to induce many molecular signs of younger age across tissues, the study did not prove that actual biological ageing was reversed or that the mice lived longer.
GLP-1 receptor agonists work by binding to receptors that respond to the GLP-1 hormone. This binding triggers metabolic processes, including insulin release and appetite suppression, and potentially, as this study suggests, molecular changes linked to younger biological age.
The researchers hope their findings will lead to larger clinical trials and help in developing anti-ageing drugs. However, they stress that longitudinal studies tracking subjects over extended periods are necessary to determine whether these drugs could form part of a comprehensive anti-ageing strategy.
The growing interest in using diabetes and weight-loss drugs for longevity reflects wider trends in anti-ageing research, where scientists increasingly examine how existing medicines might have benefits for healthspan and lifespan.
Experts caution that people should not start taking these medicines for anti-ageing purposes based on animal studies alone, as human trials are needed to establish safety and efficacy for this use.
Cheese eaten at least weekly was linked with a lower dementia risk in a study of nearly 8,000 older adults.
Tracking 7,914 people aged 65 or over for three years, the study found a dementia rate of 3.4 per cent among weekly cheese eaters, compared with 4.5 per cent in those who avoided cheese.
That equals about 10 to 11 fewer cases per 1,000 people, suggesting a modest effect at population level.
Researchers at Niimi University in Japan analysed participants split into two groups: about half ate cheese at least once a week, while the rest did not.
The study, commissioned by Japanese food company Meiji Co., adjusted for age, sex, education and income.
Seungwon Jeong, a geriatrics researcher at Niimi University, and colleagues, said: “These findings are consistent with prior observational evidence linking dairy intake to cognitive health.
“Although the effect for each person is modest, at a population scale, especially in countries with low cheese intake, such differences could contribute meaningfully to dementia prevention strategies.”
The association held, though weaker, even after accounting for overall diet quality.
People who avoided cheese tended to have less healthy diets, but the link persisted, suggesting cheese itself might confer specific benefits.
Cheese contains nutrients that may support brain health, including vitamin K, which is involved in processes that help maintain cognitive function.
It is also rich in beneficial bacteria that support gut health, and previous research has linked the gut microbiome to brain function.
Fermented dairy products like cheese have been shown to benefit cardiovascular health, which is closely tied to dementia risk because poor heart health can limit blood flow to the brain.
The researchers noted: “Although the present study did not include biomarker or mechanistic assessments, several nutritional characteristics of cheese may provide a plausible explanation for the observed association.”
Biomarkers are measurable biological signals, and mechanistic assessments explore how an effect works.
The findings add to evidence that lifestyle factors, including exercise, diet, social engagement and cognitive activities, may influence dementia risk.
While the study shows association rather than causation, it indicates that dietary choices could play a role in brain health.
Dementia affects at least 50 million people worldwide, a number expected to rise as populations age.
The United Nations has declared it a public health priority, particularly in countries such as Japan where demographic shifts are creating an increasingly elderly population.
The researchers emphasised that the statistics are not strong enough to guarantee cheese will prevent dementia, but the indications suggest it could form part of a brain-healthy diet.
The researchers concluded: “Further research is warranted to clarify dose-response relationships, cheese subtypes, and underlying mechanisms.”
The study controlled for multiple variables but could not eliminate all confounding.
People who regularly eat cheese may have other lifestyle characteristics that protect against dementia, though the team attempted to account for known influences.
Japan has traditionally low cheese consumption compared with Western countries, making it an informative population for studying potential health impacts of dairy products.
The findings may be especially relevant where cheese intake is minimal but dementia rates are rising.
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