The disease is a major socio-economic challenge with care costs approaching 1% of global GDP (WHO Report 2012). The number of individuals suffering from dementia today is roughly 36 million and, due to ageing societies, will increase to 115 million by 2050.

The annual costs are estimated to be €55B in Europe and €450B worldwide (1% of the World Gross Domestic Product). In 2012, the WHO declared dementia a global health priority, highlighting the urgent need for improvements in this area. 

MR GSI will be developed as a one-stop-shop approach that sees p/d as two extremes of the same phenomenon. This is exploited in the context of Vascular Cognitive Impairment (VCI) where we propose the novel concept of associating the two regimes to different stages of the condition. We will develop ultra-detailed models of myelinated axon fibres and neuroglia, and of white matter (WM) microcirculation in normal and VCI-affected brains. 

We will progress the state of the art in IVIM by developing an integrated approach with diffusion dMRI.

Dementia already is one of society’s biggest medical challenges. No cures are so far available. It is in the provision of differential and early diagnosis that the technologies developed within OCEAN can have a serious impact. The expected impact of the project will influence the scientific, clinical and industrial communities to improve the healthcare of dementia patients.

This will both improve patients’ quality of life, and also reduce the burden on carers and the costs of supporting people with dementia.