# 365 - Predicting Alzheimers disease - Prof Richard Reilly

You're probably familiar with having an MRI scan on your strained muscle, your grandmother quite possibly had her hip replaced at some point, and more and more of us are wearing devices that can alert us of irregular heart related events which can prompt us to seek medical attention. These are all everyday examples of how our lives intersect with biomedical engineering. As research in this area progresses and as technology improves, the field of bioengineering is only going to become more impactful on our lives. One of the people at the forefront of biomedical engineering research is Professor Richard Reilly who specialises in neural engineering at Trinity College in Dublin where his research focuses on the processing of signals that diagnose the human physiological and cognitive state. In this episode we find out what biomedical engineering is and how we interact with examples of it daily, quite often without even realising. We discuss some of the 500 research studies Prof Reilly has been involved in, including examining the walking stride and cognitive functions of diabetes patients who are at greater risk of cognitive decline than people who dont have diabetes. We discuss research that seeks to provide a predictor of Alzheimer's disease by studying the change in a person's speech patterns over time. Expect to learn what role neural engineering is playing in helping us understand spinal cord injuries. We talk about how AI is already making a significant impact in the bioengineering space and the potential for it to accelerate progress as far as discovery and research are concerned. And I ask if there are any ethical considerations to be aware of when carrying out research and developing new technologies in bioengineering. https://www.tcd.ie/research/profiles/?profile=reillyri