Evergreen Life is joining BRAINIAC, a £20 million research hub led by the University of Exeter that will develop artificial intelligence and data systems to help the NHS reduce dementia risk and speed up assessment and diagnosis.
The programme will underpin ten new brain health clinics across the UK, bringing together research, emerging technologies and clinical expertise to support earlier identification of risk and more personalised prevention and treatment.
BRAINIAC, AI and Emerging Technologies for Next Generation Brain Health Clinics, is funded by £10 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). A further £10 million will be contributed by industry, charity and NHS partners.
The six-year programme brings together 11 universities and ten NHS sites. The first clinics are expected to open in 2029, initially accepting people through NHS referral.
Identifying risk earlier
BRAINIAC Director David Llewellyn, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Digital Health at the University of Exeter Medical School, said:
“Nearly a million people in the UK have dementia, and the hardest problem is detecting the earliest changes so we know who can benefit from treatment and prevention. The tools we build in these NHS clinics will let us pick up the first signs before symptoms show, and offer people a personalised prevention plan to help them keep their brains sharp for longer.”
BRAINIAC will develop AI that brings together blood biomarkers, brain imaging, genetics, health records and digital cognitive assessments into a single, clear picture of a person’s brain health.
The technologies will be developed and tested inside ten NHS brain health clinics operating as living laboratories, involving more than 1,700 patients, to ensure they are ready for everyday NHS use.
Secure systems will allow hospitals to share AI models without sharing patient data. People will also be able to complete assessments at home, online or through an app, building on Exeter’s PROTECT study.
The hub aims to make assessment and diagnosis 30–50% faster and identify more than 40% of the people it assesses as being at early risk, even before symptoms develop, when prevention and treatment are most likely to help.
The clinics will also create one of the UK’s largest trial-ready groups of patients, making it easier to offer people places on clinical trials of new treatments.
Connecting research with everyday care
Evergreen Life will contribute its data, digital and patient-engagement capabilities to the collaboration.
Stephen Critchlow, Founder & CEO of Evergreen Life, said:
“BRAINIAC is a great example of what becomes possible when world-class research is combined with longitudinal health data, digital engagement and a practical route into everyday care.
“At Evergreen, we’ve spent more than a decade building a platform that enables people to bring together and contribute to their health record over time. That creates exciting opportunities not only to support research such as BRAINIAC, but to help researchers and innovators develop, validate and ultimately translate new approaches into real-world healthcare.
“We’re delighted to be part of the programme and to contribute Evergreen’s data, digital and patient-engagement capabilities to such an important national collaboration.”
Designed with patients and clinicians
People living with dementia and carers will co-design the tools throughout the programme, working with Innovations in Dementia. Alzheimer’s Society will support the route into NHS use.
The hub will also train more than 200 clinicians and engineers and support 10-20 small companies to bring new technologies into the NHS.
Deputy Director Chris Fox, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Exeter Medical School and a practising clinician, said:
“Every week I see people who have waited far too long to be seen, and how little we can offer once dementia is advanced. The treatments now arriving only help if we find people early. BRAINIAC will give the NHS the tools to do that at scale, designed with patients and clinicians from the start so they work in a busy clinic and not just on paper.”
A collaboration across all four UK nations
Led by the University of Exeter, BRAINIAC brings together the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, Strathclyde and Swansea, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, Queen’s University Belfast and UCL, alongside ten NHS sites across all four UK nations and partners from industry and the charity sector.
BRAINIAC is one of five new hubs funded across the UK.
Professor Charlotte Deane, Executive Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UKRI), said:
“These five new hubs will improve the lives and livelihoods of people and patients right across the UK.
“They build on the proven success of our previous hubs, which are already translating cutting-edge research into real benefits, advancing healthcare innovation, including the world’s first AI-assisted brain tumour surgery.
“By working closely with patients, the NHS and industry, we’re helping people live healthier lives and preventing ill health before it starts.”