The Brain Physics Laboratory is pleased to announce the securing of major EU funding as part of the INTERREG Programme for its Reversible Dementia project (REVERT). This is led by Dr Peter Smielewski, the creator of brain monitoring software ICM+, licensed by now to over 200 clinical research centres worldwide leading to creation of an international research network in intracranial dynamics.

The project is a cross-border collaboration involving a consortium of clinicians, scientists and software specialists across 3 Universities (University of Cambridge, University of Picardie Jules Verne, University of Artois) , 4 hospitals (Cambridge University Hospitals, University Hospital of Amiens-Picardie, University Hospital of Brest, University Hospital of Caen) and one healthcare informatics company (Obex Technologies Ltd) across the UK and France. It aims to transform the diagnosis and management of normal pressure hydrocephalus through a combined approach of establishing a cross-border clinical network of excellence to transform the current management pathway, and the parallel development of novel diagnostic tools based on the world-leading research on intracranial dynamics of the Laboratory. The clinical side of the project will be led by Dr Alexis Joannides, consultant neurosurgeon (Department of Clinical Neurosciences and NIHR Brain Injury MedTech Co-operative).

Peter Smielewski says: I am excited and humbled by this success as it is a culmination of nearly 30 years of pioneering inter-disciplinary research led by Prof Marek Czosnyka and Prof John Pickard, and of our longstanding collaborative work with the University of Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens.

Alexis Joannides says: REVERT is a unique opportunity to improve the quality of life of patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus who are often misdiagnosed as having other forms of dementia, thus addressing a largely unrecognised unmet clinical need.

The project is already initiated and will complete in June 2023.