AMI Begins Participation in World’s Largest Brain Amyloid Scanning Research Study

Nation-wide IDEAS Study to determine clinical value of PET scans in Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis.
GALLOWAY – Atlantic Medical Imaging (AMI) has been selected to participate in the world’s largest brain amyloid scanning research study. The IDEAS (Imaging Dementia – Evidence for Amyloid Scanning) Study will follow more than 18,000 Medicare patients nation-wide to evaluate the clinical value of a brain positron emission tomography (PET) scan to detect the hallmark brain amyloid accumulation of Alzheimer’s disease in diagnosing and managing treatment of patients age 65 and older with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia of uncertain cause. Information from this scan can help exclude underlying Alzheimer’s disease, and may help guide patient management.
AMI is the only imaging center in the region (Atlantic and Cape May counties) to participate in the study.
“We are pleased to have been selected to participate in this important research study,” said Dr. David Levi, AMI President and CEO. “We believe this study could yield findings that will have a significant impact on the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Our participation in the study is consistent with our on-going commitment to be at the forefront of advances in medical imaging that can have a meaningful impact on the quality of people’s lives,” added Dr. Levi.
“The IDEAS Study will provide the evidence needed to demonstrate the utility of amyloid PET imaging in a clinical setting and for future decision making about insurance coverage for what we believe to be an important diagnostic tool,’ said Maria Carrillo, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer and IDEAS Study co-chair. “A swift and accurate diagnosis has a huge impact on access to Alzheimer’s treatments, eligibility for research trials, plus much-needed support and information services.”
The IDEAS Study will not directly recruit patients. Participants must instead be referred into the study by neurologists who are dementia specialists. Dementia specialists will enroll patients who meet the study enrollment criteria and refer them for an amyloid PET scan. Amyloid PET scans will be performed and interpreted by AMI’s board certified, subspeciality radiologists with results provided to the ordering physician for disclosure to the patient and to support further diagnostic decisions. Scan results and diagnosis will be captured for the study.
Dementia specialists and other referring physicians may visit www.ideas-study.org to learn about the study protocols. The IDEAS Study is led by the Alzheimer’s Association and managed by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN).