Digital technologies for the assessment of cognition: a clinical review

Abstract

Dementia is the most widespread form of neurodegenerative disorder and is associated with an immense societal and personal cost. Prevalence of this disorder is projected to triple worldwide by 2050 leading to an urgent need to make advances in the efficiency of both its care and therapy research. Digital technologies are a rapidly advancing field that provide a previously unavailable opportunity to alleviate challenges faced by clinicians and researchers working in this area. This clinical review aimed to summarise currently available evidence on digital technologies that can be used to monitor cognition. We identified a range of pervasive digital systems, such as smartphones, smartwatches and smart homes, to assess and assist elderly demented, prodromal and preclinical populations. Generally, the studies reported good level of agreement between the digital measures and the constructs they aimed to measure. However, most of the systems are still only in the initial stages of development with limited data on acceptability in patients. Although it is clear that the use of digital technology to monitor and support the cognitive domains affected by dementia is a promising area of development, additional research validating the efficacy, utility and cost-effectiveness of these systems in patient populations is needed.

Technology and Dementia: The Future is Now

“…Two touchscreen-based cognitive assessment batteries – Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery [1] and Examen Cognitif par Ordinateur [2] were developed in Europe in the 1980s and 1990s. More recently multiple web-based and app-based cognitive assessments have emerged [3] including digitized versions of pen and paper tasks, such as clock drawing [4] including a digital clock-drawing pen [5]. In addition, the manner in which people use technology and changes in their patterns of use has been identified as an early indicator of emerging cognitive impairment [6, 7].…”

Prediction of Alzheimer’s disease biomarker status defined by the ‘ATN framework’ among cognitively healthy individuals: results from the EPAD longitudinal cohort study

“…interaction with digital technology, navigational skills through GPS) and active (e.g. smartphone cognitive testing) data collection [ 4 , 27 , 29 ].…”

Technology and Dementia: The Future Is Now

“…Two touchscreenbased cognitive assessment batteries -Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery [1] and Examen Cognitif par Ordinateur [2] were developed in Europe in the 1980s and 1990s. More recently multiple web-based and app-based cognitive assessments have emerged [3] including digitized versions of pen and paper tasks, such as clock drawing [4] including a digital clock-drawing pen [5]. In addition, the manner in which people use technology and changes in their patterns of use has been identified as an early indicator of emerging cognitive impairment [6,7].…”