AI detects hidden brain blood-vessel damage linked to stroke and dementia
Official title: Covert Cerebrovascular Disease Detected by Artificial Intelligence (C2D2AI): A Platform for Pragmatic Evidence Generation for Stroke and Dementia Prevention
Funded at Tufts Medical Center · NIH-10809792 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses AI to find hidden small strokes and white-matter changes on routine brain scans in older adults to help prevent future stroke and dementia.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Tufts Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2023 |
| Project end | January 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $952,876 |
| NIH project number | 4R01NS102233-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-10809792 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults over age 50 who received a head CT or MRI and have no prior history of stroke or dementia, especially if scans show covert infarcts or white-matter changes.
✕Less likely to help
People without brain imaging, those with a prior stroke or dementia diagnosis, or those whose scans show no covert cerebrovascular disease are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If you had a head CT or MRI as part of routine care, this work uses AI tools to spot hidden brain infarcts and white-matter disease that often go unnoticed. The team applies natural language processing to radiology reports and image-analysis algorithms across a large health system to find people over 50 who had no prior stroke or dementia. They link these imaging findings to later stroke and dementia outcomes and build a platform to support pragmatic prevention studies. The goal is to make clinicians and patients aware of these risks and create ways to test treatments to lower them.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help identify people at higher risk and enable targeted steps to prevent stroke and dementia.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows AI and NLP can reliably find these hidden imaging findings and that covert infarcts predict higher risk of stroke and dementia, but direct prevention trials in this group are still limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Tufts Medical Center
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kent, David M — Tufts Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Kent, David M
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Finding hidden small strokes and white matter damage on routine brain scans with AI
Using artificial intelligence to spot unnoticed brain blood-vessel damage on routine CT or MRI scans to help people at risk for stroke and dementia.
-
Detecting hidden brain diseases using artificial intelligence
This study is looking to find hidden brain problems that can lead to strokes and memory issues by using advanced imaging and smart computer technology, so we can help people catch these risks early and stay healthier longer.
-
Using artificial intelligence to find hidden brain diseases that could lead to strokes and dementia
This study is looking to find hidden brain problems that could lead to stroke or dementia by using smart computer techniques to analyze brain scans and reports, helping doctors catch these issues early and improve treatment for patients.
-
BBB Dysfunction after Stroke and Risk for Dementia
A study at Stanford will look at whether inflammation after a stroke leads to leaky blood vessels and later dementia, by following stroke survivors and comparing them with people without stroke.
-
DNMT3a and oligodendrocyte renewal after stroke
A patient-focused study will explore how a specific gene, DNMT3a, might help repair brain white matter after a stroke to reduce dementia risk.
-
BBB Dysfunction after Stroke and Dementia Risk
This NIH grant aims to understand why some people develop dementia years after a stroke by looking at brain inflammation and blood vessel leakage.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.