Automated language analysis to help diagnose Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English speakers
Official title: An automated machine learning approach to language changes in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia across Latino and English-speaking populations
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11553467 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A low-cost, computer-based method analyzes speech and language to help identify Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking people.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $320,938 |
| NIH project number | 3R01AG075775-04S3 |
| Project ID | NIH-11553467 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Individuals with or at risk for Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia, including Spanish-speaking and English-speaking adults at various stages.
✕Less likely to help
People without cognitive concerns or those not using speech-based assessments may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project will develop an automated language-and-speech analysis framework that uses natural speech samples to find markers of Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. It will compare Latino and English-speaking participants across multiple languages and dialects, taking into account factors like bilingualism and socio-biological profiles. The study will use data from thousands of participants to train and test machine learning models that can work in real-world clinical settings. By focusing on culturally valid, scalable tests, this work aims to improve early detection and monitoring for diverse populations.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, clinicians could use a low-cost speech-based tool to screen and monitor dementia in diverse communities.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show promise for speech-based dementia detection, but this project expands validation across languages, dialects, and socio-biological factors in a large diverse cohort.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gorno Tempini, Maria Luisa — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Gorno Tempini, Maria Luisa
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Automated language analysis for Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English speakers
A low-cost, automated speech and language analysis tool is being developed to help identify Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking people.
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Automated language analysis for Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia across Latino and English-speaking groups
A low-cost, automated language study aims to help diagnose and understand Alzheimer’s and FTD in diverse Spanish- and English-speaking communities.
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Automated language analysis for Alzheimer's and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking communities
A low-cost, computer-based language analysis method is being developed to help identify Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking people.
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Automated language analysis to detect Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking adults
A low-cost, computer-based language and speech analysis tool will help identify Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English-speaking adults.
-
Automated language analysis for Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia in Latino and English speakers
A machine learning approach analyzes speech and language from Latino and English-speaking people to help detect Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
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Automated speech and language detection for Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia in Spanish and English speakers
This project uses automated speech and language analysis to help spot signs of Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia in Spanish- and English-speaking people, with special focus on Latino communities.
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.