A UTK research team is developing an AI system that connects data from multiple clinical tests — including PET scans, brain MRIs, and cognitive assessments — to help detect Alzheimer's disease earlier in patients at UT Medical Center's Pat Summit Clinic.

The project is led by Assistant Professor Hector Santos-Villalobos (EECS, Tickle College of Engineering) in partnership with Roberto Fernandez-Romero, director of the Pat Summit Clinic at UT Medical Center. The AI system attempts to find patient-specific correlations and causal patterns across diverse data sources that are difficult for clinicians to process manually. Santos-Villalobos stated the goal is that earlier detection gives patients a better chance of a longer quality of life. This is a research project reported in May 2025 and has not been confirmed as a deployed clinical tool.