---
title: Hacking Alzheimer’s
date: 2018-09-11T09:00:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/hacking-alzheimers-8b465911-bf44-4672-aee0-2fbd5be16384"
section: Articles
---
# Hacking Alzheimer’s

*September 11, 2018* — by [Freethink DIY Science Staff](/author/freethink-diy-science-staff)


> Undergrads’ System Could Speed Up Diagnosis, Improve Treatment

[Hacking Alzheimer’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH31MzpWeRY)



Diagnosing Alzheimer's disease is a lengthy, expensive process. A new method under development by UMD undergraduates could result in faster diagnoses, giving patients a better chance to use therapies to delay the disease. Using a 3D-printed EEG device, the Synapto system's machine-learning algorithm compares biomarkers from a subject’s scan with those of a healthy brain, producing a diagnosis before symptoms are observable. The invention won first place and $20,000 in a National Institutes of Health undergraduate design competition.


**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [A. James Clark School of Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/james-clark-school-engineering)