For those lacking access to state-of-the-art technology and local experts, researchers say an electroencephalogram is nearly 85% accurate in diagnosing individuals in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

The EEG does not quite match the 90% diagnosis accuracy indicative of “gold standard” tests used at world-class medical centers, but it proves better than the average accuracy achieved at community hospitals and clinics, according to researchers at Rowan University in New Jersey, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Drexel University.

The EEG is an 80-year-old technology known for measuring brain activity. Researchers found it to be successful in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease often before patients and their families were aware of their progressing memory loss.