The UK government has launched The Dementia Challenge to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies and practices that will diagnose and predict how the disease will progress, backed by £80 million of funding.
Nine new technologies, including faster MRI brain scans and a remote cognitive assessment, will be tested in the NHS as part of a government drive to diagnose dementia faster.
The Dementia Challenge’s goal is for 92% of people to be diagnosed within 18 weeks of a referral, up from around 60% today with diagnosis often taking more than a year.
The projects will undergo real-world testing and only get more funding by proving they’re working, speeding up the process of getting what works to patients. Funded by the UK government through UK Research and Innovation’s Research and Development Missions Accelerator Programme (R&D MAP), it aims to help people and their families get an earlier and more accurate diagnosis of dementia, and to better understand what a dementia diagnosis means for their lives.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Health Mission Challenge Director Andy Hill said: “By developing better diagnostic and prognostic tools, we can help people living with dementia understand and manage their symptoms, get earlier access to treatment and plan for their futures. That will mean better lives for people living with dementia and for their family and carers.
More people die as consequence of dementia than any other disease in the United Kingdom, accounting for almost one in eight deaths. In 2025, over 72,000 people across the UK died from dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a disease that causes untold suffering for patients and their families. That’s why the dementia is the first condition the UKRI R&D MAP’s Health Mission is focusing on.
The projects include the following.
- University College London and UK Dementia Research Institute
The research is looking at reducing MRI scan times from around 20 minutes to around seven minutes, giving more patients access to diagnostic MRI scans, reducing costs and enhancing patient experience. - University of Exeter
Researchers are integrating a digital platform into the NHS that enables people to monitor changes in their cognitive health and be seen at the right time. - UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research & Technology Centre at Imperial College London
Researchers are creating a home-monitoring platform (Minder) that uses unobtrusive sensors in the home and linked artificial intelligence to support earlier dementia intervention, personalised care and proactive management. - University of Oxford and Dementias Platform UK
Researchers are integrating a panel of blood-based dementia biomarkers (validated in the Blood Biomarker Challenge-funded READ-OUT study) into routine NHS memory services. The aim is to improve diagnostic accuracy and maximise the benefit for patients and the NHS. - Cognitron
Cognitron is improving the speed, accuracy and accessibility of dementia diagnosis using a 15-minute remote digital cognitive assessment. - University of Bristol
Researchers at the University of Bristol are introducing routine sleep apnoea screening and improved access to treatment for everyone referred to memory assessment services to improve the accuracy of dementia diagnoses - Queen Mary University of London
Researchers are supporting earlier dementia detection and monitoring by assessing how the brain processes sound via a digital diagnostic tool using a standard home computer and headphones. - University of Cambridge
Researchers at the University of Cambridge are improving how dementia is diagnosed and treated using an AI-enabled clinical decision support tool. The tool analyses routinely collected data (medical records, blood tests, cognitive tests) to predict progression for people at risk of dementia. - The University of Edinburgh and NHS Research Scotland
Researchers are redesigning Scotland’s dementia diagnosis and treatment services to provide faster, better quality and more consistent diagnosis across the country, and ‘living labs’ to test new biomarkers and treatments.
To deliver the challenge while identifying, developing, validating, and implementing clinical interventions and technological innovations for the NHS and social care, UKRI is partnering with: industry; academia; the NHS; Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); the Health Innovation Network; the third sector; and people with lived experience of dementia
UKRI is adopting a fail-fast approach for this programme, where projects need to achieve results and reach milestones to receive funding so only those showing real promise continue to receive support. This is a move away from UKRI’s traditional model of awarding single grants for longer term projects. The aim is to ensure results and impacts are delivered quickly, and the highest-potential projects get ongoing support.
Dr Richard Oakley, Associate Director of Research and Innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, commented: “At any one time one in three people living with dementia in the UK do not have a diagnosis, meaning they are missing out on treatment, support and opportunities to take part in research. The Dementia Challenge could be a game changer and shorten the path to diagnosis by testing and rapidly scaling innovative technologies in real NHS settings. Alzheimer’s Society is proud to support the Dementia Challenge and help turn promising innovations into real improvements for people affected by dementia. Now the Government must match this ambition by introducing a national 18-week target from referral to diagnosis.”