Embedding imaging AI in your Alzheimer’s clinical workflow: From diagnosis to ARIA monitoring

The field of Alzheimer’s disease care is evolving rapidly. The approval of disease-modifying therapies have necessitated earlier diagnosis and strict safety monitoring protocols, resulting in larger demands on radiology and neurology care teams in the form of additional imaging requests, tighter timelines, and stronger implications for clinical interpretation. MRI scans are no longer used solely to exclude other pathologies - they are now central to diagnosis, assessing treatment eligibility, and therapy monitoring. This shift brings new complexities and rising workloads, making reliable, efficient imaging support essential.

Many leading hospitals and memory clinics have turned to icobrain to meet these demands. FDA-cleared and CE-marked, icobrain dm and icobrain aria are clinically validated AI tools that streamline decision-making across the Alzheimer’s care continuum - from initial MRI analysis to monitoring of ARIA during anti-amyloid therapy.

1: Early detection and differential diagnosis with icobrain dm

When a patient presents with subjective cognitive complaints, the first step is accurate diagnosis. With icobrain dm, you gain objective insights into metrics regarding global and regional brain structures, including volumetric and asymmetry measures of key regions such as the hippocampus, cortical lobes, and ventricles. By benchmarking these metrics against normative data, you can detect patterns suggestive of Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.

This quantitative, reproducible analysis supports early and differential diagnosis - enabling timely intervention and helping neurologists and radiologists move from uncertainty to clarity, right from the first scan.

2: Monitoring of disease progression

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive condition, but clinical symptoms often evolve slowly, and can be difficult to track in short outpatient visits. Subtle cognitive changes may not reflect the true pace of neurodegeneration.

icobrain dm enables longitudinal monitoring of brain atrophy, comparing serial MRIs over time against a healthy control population. By quantifying volumetric changes in structures like the hippocampus and cortex, clinicians gain a clearer picture of the patient’s disease trajectory - even when symptoms appear unchanged.

This objective insight helps neurologists assess disease stability or progression with confidence, guiding timely treatment decisions, adjusting care plans, and facilitating more informed conversations with patients and caregivers.

3: Evaluating eligibility for anti-amyloid therapy

With the availability of anti-amyloid therapies like aducanumab, lecanemab and donenamab, imaging has become a gatekeeper - not only for diagnosis but for ensuring patient safety.

Before initiating treatment, patients must meet strict imaging criteria designed to reduce the risk of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) and hemorrhagic complications. These include:

• No more than 4 cerebral microhemorrhages (on T2*/GRE)

• Absence of cortical superficial siderosis

• No history of macrohemorrhage or significant vascular lesions

• No severe small vessel disease (e.g., extensive white matter hyperintensities)

icobrain dm supports this safety screening with automated, quantitative assessments of white matter hyperintensities, and cerebral and superficial T2* hypointensities. By providing reproducible, structured reports aligned with trial-based exclusion criteria, icobrain dm ensures that neurologists and radiologists can identify appropriate therapy candidates safely, confidently, and consistently.

4: Baseline ARIA Assessment with icobrain aria

Before starting anti-amyloid therapy, a clear baseline MRI is essential to monitor for ARIA safely. icobrain aria is the only FDA-cleared solution for the detection, quantification, and grading of ARIA, providing structured insights that support confident treatment decisions. icobrain aria delivers an automated, structured assessment of ARIA-E (edema) and ARIA-H (microhemorrhages and superficial siderosis), including volumetric quantification, regional mapping, and severity grading.

This baseline scan ensures that any changes seen during follow-up can be confidently attributed to therapy - supporting safe treatment initiation and consistent longitudinal monitoring.

5: Follow-up monitoring during therapy

Once anti-amyloid therapy begins, MRI surveillance is mandatory - typically requiring four scans during the first six months of treatment, with additional scans if symptoms arise. This frequent imaging is essential because ARIA is most likely to occur early and can be clinically silent.

When ARIA is detected, decisions must be made quickly: mild cases may allow continued treatment, while moderate to severe ARIA often requires therapy interruption or discontinuation. These decisions rely on accurate quantification and consistent grading - which is where icobrain aria plays a critical role.

From PACS to reporting to EMR: Fully integrated clinical workflow

icobrain dm and icobrain aria are designed not as stand‑alone tools, but as fully embedded components within your existing imaging and clinical ecosystem. The goal: zero disruptions, maximum insight, and direct integration into your reporting and patient record workflows. 

icobrain generates multiple output formats tailored to your workflow: DICOM overlays for PACS, structured quantitative reports, pre-filled radiology templates, and HL7-ready formats for integration in other IT systems. These outputs can be automatically pushed into your radiology reporting system and electronic medical record, ensuring that neurologists, radiologists, and care teams can access consistent, annotated results directly within their clinical environment - without toggling between systems.

Why leading hospitals and memory clinics worldwide rely on icobrain

As Alzheimer’s care becomes more advanced, so do the demands on those delivering it. From diagnosing earlier to safely guiding patients through anti-amyloid treatment, clinicians face mounting complexity - and limited time. icobrain dm and icobrain aria are built to meet this reality head-on.

With clinically validated, FDA-cleared AI, icobrain supports confident decisions at every step: early detection, longitudinal monitoring, therapy eligibility, ARIA safety assessment, and ongoing follow-up. Seamlessly integrated into your clinical systems from PACS to EMR, icobrain delivers the insights you need, where and when you need them.

That’s why leading hospitals and memory clinics worldwide rely on icobrain to embed precision imaging into modern Alzheimer’s care.