Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to speak today about a disease that is greatly impacting our communities. Dementia is the silent killer responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Australians every year. In 2023, dementia was responsible for almost 250,000 deaths, and it's currently the second-highest cause of death for all people and the highest cause of death amongst Australian women. The predicted number of people living with dementia is over 400,000. That is how many people and families are struggling with this deadly disease. Dementia can often be hard to diagnose early, but intervention is critical. There are obviously studies, and research is happening into the development of treatments that will help to change the face of dementia in this country.

A new study has been completed in my home state of Tasmania, conducted by researchers from the University of Tasmania's Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre—an amazing institution. These Tasmanian scientists are now one step closer to developing a computer program, TAS Test, that uses artificial intelligence, AI, to diagnose dementia earlier than ever before. In diagnosis, the symptoms vary and tracking is sometimes hard, but they believe that tracking hand movements, comparing cognitive ability and picking up changes in hand motion are able to predict dementia 10 to 20 years earlier. That is a significant breakthrough. The researchers say it's the largest study of this kind and the first to look at the correlation between hand motions and other cognitive aspects of memory, which will open up an entirely new way for scientists to research dementia. When this newly developed system is completed, it will allow people to be easily tested from home and accurately diagnosed decades earlier than in years gone by. This study is amazing and has the capacity to help not only Australians but eventually the entire world. We know there are some countries more prone to this disease than others.

The most common form of dementia in Australia is Alzheimer's. Wouldn't it be great if Alzheimer's could be tested as early and easily as we can for cholesterol right now in primary care with our local doctors? This is the aim of the team of scientists at Sweden's Lund University. Their study took over 12,000 people with Alzheimer's and tested a new blood test that was designed to detect Alzheimer's. The study found a 90 per cent success rate when it came to diagnosing with a blood test.

These two recent discoveries have opened up the opportunity for the world to advance its understanding and its ability to research dementia both quickly and accurately. Anyone who knows anything about dementia will tell you that early diagnosis is the key to conquering this disease and to allowing people diagnosed to lead a more full life. I would like to congratulate those at the Wicking institute, led by great people like Professor James Vickers and the head of research, Dr Jane Alty.

To have this research being done in Hobart, in my home state of Tasmania, is fantastic. We have almost the oldest population in the country living in Tasmania, so it is the perfect place to do this research. But their tentacles reach right across the whole world with the programs they run to educate people around dementia, so a big shout-out to them. It is important that we take the message back to our community. Anything we can do to assist in this research is invaluable, and I thank you for taking this message to your community. (Time expired)

Senate adjourned at 17:41