Researchers report that Aspect Medical System's Bispectral Index, a monitoring system that obtains information from electrical brain activity, correlates with severity of dementia in Alzheimer's patients.

Dr. Andrew Leuchter, lead investigator from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association that the discovery could lead to new diagnostic and tracking techniques for Alzheimer's.

For more than a decade, Bispectral Index (BIS) technology has been used to track the effects of anesthetics and sedatives on the brain.

By placing a sensor on a patient's forehead, the monitor translates information into a single number from one to 100, which represents the patient's level of consciousness -- the higher the number, the higher the level of consciousness.

"We are very pleased with these preliminary results because they suggest that a refined version of the BIS may have significant practical uses in neuropsychiatry," Leuchter said. "Because of its ease-of-use, Aspect's technology holds promise to have direct application in the clinic for patient assessment."

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