Europe’s neuGRID, a cloud-computing infrastructure that stores and analyses a vast database of 3D brain scans, is joining with Canada’s CBRAIN and the U.S.’s LONI to create outGRID, a global online system to centralize and boost Alzheimer’s research initiatives.

The convergence of e-infrastructures will be supported by the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and will allow scientists worldwide to share their medical data while accessing the extensive information available online, thus helping them to draw more precise conclusions about the onset and development of Alzheimer’s.

“outGRID will allow for fully exploiting research efforts developed around the world, which are currently fragmented and often duplicated,” said Dr. Giovanni Frisoni, neuGRID and outGRID coordinator. “Most countries are devoting resources to neuroimaging studies on earlier Alzheimer’s diagnosis and the development of disease markers to be used in clinical drug trials, but a lack of coordination between these initiatives limits the prospect of making substantial scientific advancements.”

Kostas Glinos, head of e-infrastructure at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Information Society, added, “With the strong commitment of research centers and support of public funds, outGRID should succeed in establishing a global infrastructure that maximizes the use of MRIs and accelerates progress in combating Alzheimer’s.”

This new partnership takes outGRID one step closer to its goal of reaching full interoperability between scientific research centers worldwide, facilitating earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.