Dementia is a growing problem in Australia’s ageing society and identifying people with it can be difficult.

The latest research shows how artificial intelligence could make a difference.

About 50 million people worldwide live with some form of dementia, and that’s expected to triple by 2050, according to the World Alzheimer Report.

But even that could be an underestimate because identifying people with the illness can be challenging.

Now, an Australian-US team of researchers has developed an artificial intelligence tool that detects dementia by analysing medical records for hundreds of clues including memory, difficulty performing daily activities, anxiety and unexplained agitation.

It makes it easier to diagnose potential sufferers.

“If we find that there are clues to the presence of dementia in a person, and with their permission, we would be able to do a fuller clinical evaluation and confirm that and potentially provide them better care,” Professor Velandai Srikanth said.

Researchers from the National Centre for Healthy Ageing – a partnership between Melbourne’s Monash University and Peninsula Health – studied more than 1000 people aged 60 and above with dementia.

Using traditional data gathering and AI, researchers found their algorithms were highly accurate in determining whether or not a person had the illness.

They believe that, if adopted widely, this AI approach could transform how dementia is identified and managed.