The Halpin Trust has generously supported many areas of the University and that their extraordinary generosity is helping the University of Exeter address some of the world’s most challenging problems.
Professor Clive Ballard, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean, University of Exeter Medical School
Support from the Halpin Trust has enabled us to conduct ground breaking research. We are delighted to be taking DECODE into the NHS in our feasibility trial. Indeed, we are in a far better position to combat dementia than we were five years ago, and this is due to your support.
Dr David Llewellyn
Helping to understand dementia
The University of Exeter Medical School’s research ‘Enhancing the diagnostic pathway for dementia using DECODE’, led by Dr David Llewellyn, aims to develop a system that increases the timely diagnosis of dementia and reduces unnecessary assessments.
Thanks to the generosity of the Halpin Trust, who donated £123,558 to the project, Professor David Llewelyn is working with Devon Partnership NHS Trust to improve dementia diagnosis, and address one of the world’s most challenging problems.
Exeter Medical School developed a DEmentia identification COmputerized DEcision support system (DECODE) with funding from the Halpin Trust, philanthropy and a University of Exeter software development prize. DECODE helps identify which patients are most likely to benefit from a full dementia assessment. It will help GPs with the difficult task of assessing which patients should go on to memory clinics within the short consultations available to them.
DECODE is considerably more accurate than the current ‘gold standard’ cognitive assessment and funding secured from the Halpin Trust is allowing the team to use DECODE with NHS patients in 2018. Initially Torbay Memory Clinic will use DECODE as a triage tool to prioritize which patients should receive expensive and time-consuming assessments and identify those who do not need to be seen. GPs from mid Devon practices will also use DECODE during normal consultations.
The Halpin Trust’s-funding has also supported PhD researcher, Janice Ranson, who recently won a Best Poster Prize at the University of Exeter Medical School Annual Research event for the second year running. Janice’s work developing the underlying algorithms that underpin DECODE has again been recognized for its outstanding quality.
As well as the DECODE project, the Halpin Trust has also helped to support Professor Juliet Osborne’s beekeeping project and her ESI Think Tank, Professor Andrew Crosby’s motor neurone research and Professor Brendan Godley and Dr Ana Nuno’s predatory fish project.
To read more about dementia research at Exeter visit the website.