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Background Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the intermediate cognitive status between normal cognitive decline and pathological decline, is an important clinical construct for signaling possible prodromes of dementia. However, this condition is underdiagnosed. To assist monitoring and screening, digital biomarkers derived from commercial off-the-shelf video games may be of interest. These games maintain player engagement over a longer period of time and support longitudinal measurements of cognitive performance. Objective This paper aims to explore how the player actions of Klondike Solitaire relate to cognitive functions and to what extent the digital biomarkers derived from these player actions are indicative of MCI. Methods First, 11 experts in the domain of cognitive impairments were asked to correlate 21 player actions to 11 cognitive functions. Expert agreement was verified through intraclass correlation, based on a 2-way, fully crossed design with type consistency. On the basis of these player actions, 23 potential digital biomarkers of performance for Klondike Solitaire were defined. Next, 23 healthy participants and 23 participants living with MCI were asked to play 3 rounds of Klondike Solitaire, which took 17 minutes on average to complete. A generalized linear mixed model analysis was conducted to explore the differences in digital biomarkers between the healthy participants and those living with MCI, while controlling for age, tablet experience, and Klondike Solitaire experience. Results All intraclass correlations for player actions and cognitive functions scored higher than 0.75, indicating good to excellent reliability. Furthermore, all player actions had, according to the experts, at least one cognitive function that was on average moderately to strongly correlated to a cognitive function. Of the 23 potential digital biomarkers, 12 (52%) were revealed by the generalized linear mixed model analysis to have sizeable effects and significance levels. The analysis indicates sensitivity of the derived digital biomarkers to MCI. Conclusions Commercial off-the-shelf games such as digital card games show potential as a complementary tool for screening and monitoring cognition. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02971124; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02971124

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Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia are associated with increased age. MCI is a clinical entity described as a transitional state between normal cognition and dementia. Video games (VGs) can potentially promote cognition and functional capacity since multiple cognitive domains are recruited during gameplay. However, there is still a lack of consensus regarding the efficacy of VGs as therapeutic tools, particularly in neurodegenerative diseases. Objective: We aimed to analyze the impact of VGs on cognition and functional capacity outcomes in MCI/dementia patients. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis study (PROSPERO [CRD42021229445]). PubMed, Web of Science, Epistemonikos, CENTRAL, and EBSCO electronic databases were searched for RCT (2000-2021) that analyzed the impact of VGs on cognitive and functional capacity outcomes in MCI/dementia patients. Results: Nine studies were included (n = 409 participants), and Risk of Bias (RoB2) and quality of evidence (GRADE) were assessed. Data regarding attention, memory/learning, visual working memory, executive functions, general cognition, functional capacity, quality of life were identified, and pooled analyses were conducted. An effect favoring VGs interventions was observed on Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score (MD = 1.64, 95%CI 0.60 to 2.69). Conclusion: Although promising, the effects observed should be interpreted with caution since serious methodological shortcomings were identified in the studies included. Nonetheless, the effect observed is higher than the minimum clinically important difference (1.4 points) established to MMSE. Future studies on the current topic urge. Recommendations for the design and conduction of cognitive RCT studies are presented.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is characterized by cognitive, psychological, and functional impairments. Digital interventions typically focus on cognitive deficits, neglecting the difficulties that patients experience in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). The global conjecture created by COVID-19 has highlighted the seminal importance of digital interventions for the provision of healthcare services. Here, we investigated the feasibility and rehabilitation potential of a new design approach for creating highly realistic interactive virtual environments for MCI patients’ neurorehabilitation. Through a participatory design protocol, a neurorehabilitation digital platform was developed using images captured from a Portuguese supermarket (NeuroVRehab.PT). NeuroVRehab.PT’s main features (e.g., medium-sized supermarket, the use of shopping lists) were established according to a shopping behavior questionnaire filled in by 110 older adults. Seven health professionals used the platform and assessed its rehabilitation potential, clinical applicability, and user experience. Interviews were conducted using the think-aloud method and semi-structured scripts, and four main themes were derived from an inductive semantic thematic analysis. Our findings support NeuroVRehab.PT as an ecologically valid instrument with clinical applicability in MCI neurorehabilitation. Our design approach, together with a comprehensive analysis of the patients’ past experiences with IADL, is a promising technique to develop effective digital interventions to promote real-world functioning.

This paper investigates whether Klondike Solitaire can be used as an assessment tool for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It does so by providing a structured analysis and mapping player actions to cognitive functions. For Klondike Solitaire, 22 player actions were defined and mapped to 10 cognitive functions by 3 health professionals in the field of MCI. The results indicate that Attention, Executive Function, Object Recognition, Abstraction and Memory can be assessed through gameplay of Solitaire. Healthcare professionals confirmed that this can potentially be valuable, as it can screen for cognitive impairments longitudinally, in a nonintrusive way, without practice effects.

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BACKGROUND Mild Cognitive Impairment, the intermediate cognitive status between healthy cognitive decline and pathological decline, is an important clinical construct for signaling possible prodromes of dementia. Unfortunately, there is an underdetection of this condition. To provide monitoring and screening, commercial off-the-shelf video games may be of interest. They maintain player engagement over a longer period of time and support longitudinal measurements of cognitive performance. OBJECTIVE This paper aims to explore how player actions of Klondike Solitaire relate to cognitive functions and to which extent they are indicative of Mild Cognitive Impairment. METHODS Eleven experts in the domain of cognitive impairments were asked to correlate 21 player actions to eleven cognitive functions. Expert agreement was verified through intraclass correlation, based on a two-way fully crossed design with type consistency. RESULTS All intraclass correlations for player actions and cognitive function scored above 0.75, indicating good to excellent reliability. Further scrutinizing of the results revealed that all player actions had at least one cognitive function which was on average moderately to strongly correlated to a cognitive function. Similarly, each cognitive function had at least one player action which was on average moderately to strongly correlated. Similarities and patterns were found amongst player actions, providing insight into the mechanics of Klondike Solitaire gameplay. CONCLUSIONS Together, these results suggest that Klondike Solitaire has potential as a complementary tool for screening and monitoring cognition, warranting further research which analyses Klondike Solitaire gameplay data of older adults with mild cognitive impairment.