The Mātai Medical Research Institute is at the forefront of breakthrough efforts to deepen the understanding and treatment of neurological diseases, thanks to a pioneering new MRI technique.
Based in Gisborne, Mātai is the home of amplified MRI (aMRI), a cutting-edge imaging method that enables enhanced visualisation of the brain and its subtle movements.
Mātai researcher and chief executive Samantha Holdsworth says the new aMRI technology has the potential to detect signs of neurological disease earlier than traditional methods.
“Normally, in MRI, we try and correct motion, we try and fix it, we don’t want motion. But, here we thought, look if we try and amplify that motion we can maybe look at the brain in a different way and it can give us some information about brain health that’s not available with regular static MRI.”
Addressing dementia in Māori communities
Research has shown dementia tends to present up to 10 years earlier in Māori than in non-Māori. Although Māori account for 6.2 percent of all New Zealanders with dementia, researchers argue this figure is underreported.
Studies from the Lancet Commission have identified factors such as diabetes and smoking as potential contributors to dementia among Māori.
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