Australian scientists have made a major breakthrough in treating Alzheimer 's with a new drug-free method that can restore memory loss . Researchers at the University of Queensland 's Brain Institute hope to be able to trial their new 'cheap and mobile ' ultrasound device within two years on humans . The treatment attacks the neurotoxic amyloid plaques that cause memory loss and cognitive failure with ultrasound waves . Scroll down for video . Researchers at the University of Queensland 's Brain Institute hope to be able to trial their new 'cheap and mobile ' ultrasound device within two years on humans . Research director Professor Jürgen Götz hopes the new method will revolutionise Alzheimer 's treatment by restoring memory for sufferers . Research director Professor Jürgen Götz hopes the new method will revolutionise Alzheimer 's treatment by restoring memory for sufferers . 'We 're extremely excited by this innovation of treating Alzheimer 's without using drug therapeutics , ' Professor Götz said , according to The Australian . 'The word 'breakthrough ' is often misused , but in this case I think this really does fundamentally change our understanding of how to treat this disease , and I foresee a great future for this approach . ' The mobile device could be used by patients in their own homes several times a year , eliminating the need for expensive drug treatment that costs up to $ 250,000 , Prof Götz said . 'With an ageing population placing an increasing burden on the health system , an important factor is cost , and other potential drug treatments using antibodies will be expensive , ' he said . The mobile device could be used by patients in their own homes several times a year , eliminating the need for expensive drug treatment that costs up to $ 250,000 , Prof Götz said . 'In contrast , this method uses relatively inexpensive ultrasound and microbubble technology which is non-invasive and appears highly effective . ' Almost two thirds of all dementia patients in Australia suffer from Alzheimer 's , which accounts for almost 250,000 people . The total number of dementia cases in Australia is expected to rise to 900,000 by 2050 . Findings of the research , 'Scanning ultrasound efficiently removes amyloid-β and restores memory in an Alzheimer 's model ' , are published in the journal .
University of medical scientists have made the medical breakthrough . ' Cheap ' and ' mobile ' ultrasound device that can be used for treatment . Drug - free treatment breaks down the plaques that cause memory loss . Will be particularly helpful to patients in the early stages of the disease . Tested on patients who were put through surgery and had to remember objects .