Oxford Brain Health Clinic
The Oxford Brain Heath Clinic (OBHC) is an integrated research and clinical environment. It is dedicated to preparing clinical services for the 21st century to preserve brain health. The clinic was launched in August 2020, as a pilot, to improve the assessment and diagnosis of memory problems. At the clinic, patients are given high-quality assessments not usually available in routine NHS care and are also offered the opportunity to take part in related research. The leads are Professor Clare Mackay (academic) at the University of Oxford and Dr Lola Martos (clinical) at the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.
This page contains information about current and completed research. For more information on the clinic, please see the OBHC main page on the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre website.
Research overview & IMPACT
At the Oxford Brain Health Clinic we offer a comprehensive assessment of brain health at the point of entry into secondary care. This enable investigating what influences health in later life by looking at genetics, lifestyle and health histories. At the same time the data collected represent a baseline for precision recruitment for follow-up studies, clinical trials, and non-pharmacological interventions.
News
- The work of the Brain Health Clinic was featured in a UK Biobank research story for its part in the world's largest imaging project scanning 100,000 people. It was also mentioned in the accompanying press release, which saw coverage in the Guardian and BBC News among others.
- An article on the policy impact of the Brain Health Clinic as a model to revolutionise dementia care, following a project in partnership with Alzheimer’s Research UK.
- The Brain Health Clinic was featured as a potential solution and exemplar of good practice in Alzheimer’s Research UK policy report Tipping Point: The Future of Dementia in September 2023.
- Ludovica Griffanti discusses the barriers to adoption study in the NHS for brain magnetic resonance imaging software to support dementia diagnosis in routine clinical practice.
You can find out more here.
FUNDING
The Oxford Brain Health Clinic is a substantial endeavour which has benefitted from many contributors.
It is supported by NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, NIHR Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility, and the Oxford Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (OxCIN), formerly Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN).
Key protocols
The MRI protocol used in the OBHC is available in the OxCIN MR Protocols Database, and is also available here.