CombiDiag is a Marie-Curie Doctoral Network funded by the European Union. The mission of CombiDiag is to develop an AI-based diagnostic protocol for early-stage Alzheimer's disease using peripheral biomarkers. The project also aims to train a new generation of interdisciplinary experts. Alzheimer's is a major global challenge, and CombiDiag seeks to address it by studying minimally invasive biomarkers from bodily fluids and digital markers from speech and other sources. The project involves collaboration between academic and non-academic institutions across the globe.

CombiDiag offers a unique training program for Fellows, equipping them with scientific, creative, and entrepreneurial skills. The innovative research program focuses on biomarker discovery, AI technology, clinical validation, and integration into clinical trials. The goal is to improve early diagnosis and treatment for Alzheimer's patients. Ultimately, CombiDiag will produce ten skilled Fellows ready for careers in academia or industry, contributing to Alzheimer's research and care.

The Goal at MMIS

In Rostock we are hosting a Fellow in Computer Science, responsible for developing the AI technology that is able to exploit multimodal data for training and prediction. Multimodal training data is being acquired at partner locations and at the Rostock campus of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). Currently, we are analysing electroencephalogram (EEG) data for automatic decision support and plan to extend this to other modalities, such as sleep patterns and body fluids, that hint the pre-clinical stage of Alzheimer’s. The methodology being developed is expected not only to have an applied impact on clinical practice, aiding in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s right in the first consults, but also to solve currently open AI challenges in terms of multi-modality fusion complexity, efficient biosignal and medical imaging feature representation, and online prediction time and space constraints.

• Project title: Peripheral Biomarker Based Combinatorial Early Diagnostics for Dementia
• Runtime: 01.02.2023 - 31.01.2027
• Sponsor:  HORIZON 1.2 – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
• Budget: > 260.000 Euro at MMIS (2.160.201 Euro in total)
• Grant agreement ID: 101071485
• DOI:  10.3030/101071485

Academic Institutions:

• Universitätsmedizin Rostock, Germany
• Université Côte d'Azur, France
• Universita Degli Studi Di Roma La Sapienza, Italy
• Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, Denmark
• Universität des Saarlandes, Germany
• Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
• University of Reading, UK
• University of Plymouth, UK
• Capital Medical University, China
• University of Waterloo, Canada

Non-academic institutions:

• Fraunhofer IMBT, Germany
• Nordic Bioscience A/S, Denmark
• Firalis, France
• Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain
• g.Tec Medical Engineering GmbH, Austria
• Quanterix Corporation, USA
• Alzheimer Europe, Luxembourg
• BGI Shenzhen Life Science Research Institution, China
• D Young & Co LLP, UK