HKUST rolls out free Alzheimer's screenings for 6,000 elderly people
發佈日期: 2026-03-23 20:00
TVB News
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has rolled out a five-year scheme which offers free early Alzheimer's screening for 6,000 stay-at-home elderly people.
In Hong Kong, one in every ten senior citizens aged 60 or above suffers from dementia, including Alzheimer's disease -- which accounts for about 70 percent of dementia cases.
The HKUST team launched the brain care community project for the elderly in collaboration with Tung Wah College, as well as more than ten social welfare organisations.
The plan is to recruit 6,000 senior citizens aged 60 to 75 through over 40 community or elderly care centres.
The screening process includes cognitive assessment and clinical diagnosis with AI-powered multi-protein blood test analysis.
350 participants will be selected for brain imaging scans, with follow-up visits arranged after about two to three years.
The scheme has been piloted for one month with about 500 elderly people recruited.
HKUST President Professor Nancy Ip, who is also the director at the Hong Kong Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases, says the team hopes early detection and medical intervention can help delay Alzheimer's patients' cognitive decline.
And the scheme targets stay-at-home elderly.
Chief Medical Officer, HK Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases BONIFACE MOK KIN-YING: "We are trying to target the biggest populations. Not that those that are already being seen in the hospital, not that those that are already has to be institutionalised because of various disease problems. So it is fulfilling our aim to identify early."
The scheme is expected to eventually reach around 30,000 beneficiaries, including support to caregivers.
