Patient enrollment is officially underway for a new brain amyloid scanning research study managed by the American College of Radiology and American College of Radiology Imaging Network.

The Imaging Dementia-Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) Study will follow more than 18,000 Medicare beneficiaries and study the value of brain PET scans “to detect the hallmark brain amyloid accumulation of Alzheimer’s disease in diagnosing and managing treatment of patients age 65 and older with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia of uncertain cause.”

Dementia specialists participating in the study can enroll patients through its official website. Board-certified neurologists, psychiatrists, and geriatric medicine physicians interested in enrolling patients in the study can also visit the site for information on how to participate.

“We are excited that approved physicians may begin registering patients for the IDEAS Study,” Gil D. Rabinovici, MD, IDEAS Study principal investigator and associate professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a prepared statement. “We anticipate that results from the study will greatly inform future treatment and coverage decisions that can benefit countless Americans and others around the world.”

“The IDEAS Study will provide the evidence needed to demonstrate the utility of amyloid PET imaging in a clinical setting and for future decision making about insurance coverage for what we believe to be an important diagnostic tool,” Maria Carrillo, PhD, IDEAS Study co-chair and chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, said in the same statement. “A swift and accurate diagnosis has a huge impact on access to Alzheimer’s treatments, eligibility for research trials, plus much-needed support and information services.”