Mila and MoCA Cognition Partner up in Battle against Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Mila – Quebec AI institute, the world’s largest academic deep learning (DL) research center has established a partnership with MoCA Cognition, the company behind the world’s leading test for early detection of cognitive impairment. Together, they will apply artificial intelligence (AI) models to digital cognitive assessments used primarily for identifying Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.
Alzheimer’s Disease International projects over 100 million people will be living with dementia in the next 10 years. The annual global cost of dementia is expected to rise to 2.8 trillion USD by 2030.
In 1996, neurologist, Dr. Ziad Nasreddine created the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA Test, as a pen and paper test helping clinicians and researchers rapidly scan multiple cognitive domains and detect impairment. The MoCA Test has since become the preferred screening test, used in over 200 languages and dialects. Dr. Nasreddine now leads MoCA Cognition, developing the next generation of screening tools, designed for tablets, smartphones, and browsers.
“Working with Mila feels like a natural fit as we are both proudly Montreal-based entities with a shared motivation to apply AI and DL strategies to big global issues. Together we are tackling brain diseases that affect at least one person each of us knows.” said MoCA Cognition CEO, Dr. Ziad Nasreddine.
“We are encouraged by MoCA Cognition’s dedication to AI-enhanced cognitive screening tools, applicable in health care worldwide. This is precisely the kind of project and team we aim to partner with to deliver novel solutions that can have a real impact,” shared Stéphane Létourneau, Mila’s Executive Vice-President.
This partnership aims to optimize the current suite of digital tools offered by MoCA Cognition, and potentially develop new approaches that will benefit clinicians, researchers, patients, and families world-wide.
About MoCA Cognition
Dr. Ziad Nasreddine created a specialized test that could directly support hospitals and specialty clinics with high volume of patients: the Montreal Cognitive Assessment—or MoCA. Along with his continued dedication to patients at his memory clinic and center for clinical trials that welcomes over 2,000 patients per year, Dr. Nasreddine leads MoCA Cognition, a research and innovation-focused company driven to deliver the next generation of cognitive screening solutions. Early diagnosis and treatment plans improve brain health and well-being. Our mission is fueled by our passionate belief that everyone deserves a memorable life.
MoCA was ranked number 1 among 53 cognitive screening tests (Outcome Measures for Alzheimer’s Disease: A global inter-societal Delphi consensus. Alzheimer’s and Dementia. 2023)
About Mila
Founded by Professor Yoshua Bengio of the University of Montreal, Mila is an artificial intelligence research institute that brings together over 1,000 researchers specializing in machine learning. Based in Montreal, Mila’s mission is to be a global hub for scientific advances that inspire innovation and development of AI for the benefit of all. Mila is a non-profit organization recognized worldwide for its significant contributions to the field of deep learning, particularly in language modeling, machine translation, object recognition, and generative models. For more information, visit mila.quebec.