# Disparities in Access to Critical Imaging Technologies for ADRD Diagnosis and Treatment

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2024 · $230,733

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Recent FDA approval of lecanemab and the potential approval of donanemab offer promise for halting disease
progression among the growing US population of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, many
individuals with AD may not gain access to them because treatment depends crucially on access to diagnostic
PET and MRI imaging technologies, which are expensive and unevenly distributed across the US, and on
access to specialist physicians trained to appropriately refer patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related
dementias (ADRD) to these technologies. Little is known about the racial/ethnic inequities and rural-urban
disparities in access to imaging technologies and to the specialist gatekeepers of these technologies. Our
team's long-term goal is to improve access to new therapies and technologies by analyzing institutional,
market, and regulatory barriers to access, and characterizing the cost, utilization, morbidity, and mortality
consequences of impeded access. The objective in this application is to characterize the US geographic
distribution of PET and MRI facilities and of ADRD specialists, and to quantify racial/ethnic and rural-urban
disparities in technology and specialist access. We will pursue three specific aims: (1) describe the geographic
distribution of PET and MRI neuroimaging facilities and the characteristics of ADRD specialists who refer to
these facilities; (2) quantify racial/ethnic and rural-urban disparities in access to these technologies and to
ADRD specialists; (3) estimate the impact of access to imaging facilities and ADRD specialists on the
utilization of PET and MRI neuroimaging services by race/ethnicity and urbanicity. The proposed research is
innovative because it sheds light on an understudied but important barrier to equitable access to AD care –
limited access to critical imaging technologies – and develops condition-specific linkages between technology
data and data on providers and populations that can serve as a model for data development and further study
of technological health care disparities more generally. The proposed research is significant because it will fill
critical knowledge gaps and identify how imaging resources should be mobilized to ensure that all AD patients
are able to realize the full benefits of new Alzheimer’s treatments. The project's potential impact will be
substantial because project findings will provide guidance to policymakers on imaging technology barriers to
AD care, supporting planning and legislative and regulatory efforts to mitigate disparities in AD morbidity and
mortality.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11112884
- **Project number:** 3P30AG043073-12S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** EMMA AGUILA
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $230,733
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2012-09-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11112884

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11112884, Disparities in Access to Critical Imaging Technologies for ADRD Diagnosis and Treatment (3P30AG043073-12S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11112884. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*