News Archives

fMRI Can Now Distinguish Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder

February 17, 2009

calhounECE Professor Vince Calhoun and his team announced on February 17 that it's now possible to differentiate between patients suffering schizophrenia and bipolar disorder using a single fMRI scan, and to do it with a high degree of accuracy.

"The significance of this research is the possibility of better diagnosing the patient's problem, and that helps doctors better refine the treatment process," said Calhoun, who is principal investigator in the work. Calhoun is director of Image Analysis and Magnetic Resonance Research at the Mind Research Network (MRN), which is headquartered on the UNM campus, and is associate professor in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department. His UNM team, working with Yale University through National Institutes of Health grants, is able to show the diagnosis with a single imaging (fMRI) scan with approximately 93 percent accuracy. To read more, go to the ECE News Page: http://www.ece.unm.edu/morenews/cal42.htm.