Background: Dementia is a major and growing health problem, and early diagnosis is key to its management.Objective: With the ultimate goal of providing a monitoring tool that could be used to support the screening for cognitive decline, this study aims to develop a supervised, digitized version of 2 neuropsychological tests: Trail Making Test and Bells Test. The system consists of a web app that implements a tablet-based version of the tests and consists of an innovative vocal assistant that acts as the virtual supervisor for the execution of the test. A replay functionality is added to allow inspection of the user's performance after test completion.Methods: To deploy the system in a nonsupervised environment, extensive functional testing of the platform was conducted, together with a validation of the tablet-based tests. Such validation had the two-fold aim of evaluating system usability and acceptance and investigating the concurrent validity of computerized assessment compared with the corresponding paper-and-pencil counterparts.Results: The results obtained from 83 older adults showed high system acceptance, despite the patients' low familiarity with technology. The system software was successfully validated. A concurrent validation of the system reported good ability of the digitized tests to retain the same predictive power of the corresponding paper-based tests.Conclusions: Altogether, the positive results pave the way for the deployment of the system to a nonsupervised environment, thus representing a potential efficacious and ecological solution to support clinicians in the identification of early signs of cognitive decline.

Supervised digital neuropsychological tests for cognitive decline in elderly: usability and clinical validity / Lunardini, F; Luperto, M; Romeo, M; Basilico, N; Daniele, K; Azzolino, D; Damanti, S; Abbate, C; Mari, D; Cesari, M; Borghese, Na; Ferrante, S. - In: JMIR MHEALTH AND UHEALTH. - ISSN 2291-5222. - 8:9(2020). [10.2196/17963]

Supervised digital neuropsychological tests for cognitive decline in elderly: usability and clinical validity

Damanti S;
2020-01-01

Abstract

Background: Dementia is a major and growing health problem, and early diagnosis is key to its management.Objective: With the ultimate goal of providing a monitoring tool that could be used to support the screening for cognitive decline, this study aims to develop a supervised, digitized version of 2 neuropsychological tests: Trail Making Test and Bells Test. The system consists of a web app that implements a tablet-based version of the tests and consists of an innovative vocal assistant that acts as the virtual supervisor for the execution of the test. A replay functionality is added to allow inspection of the user's performance after test completion.Methods: To deploy the system in a nonsupervised environment, extensive functional testing of the platform was conducted, together with a validation of the tablet-based tests. Such validation had the two-fold aim of evaluating system usability and acceptance and investigating the concurrent validity of computerized assessment compared with the corresponding paper-and-pencil counterparts.Results: The results obtained from 83 older adults showed high system acceptance, despite the patients' low familiarity with technology. The system software was successfully validated. A concurrent validation of the system reported good ability of the digitized tests to retain the same predictive power of the corresponding paper-based tests.Conclusions: Altogether, the positive results pave the way for the deployment of the system to a nonsupervised environment, thus representing a potential efficacious and ecological solution to support clinicians in the identification of early signs of cognitive decline.
2020
Bells Test
Trail Making Test
aging
computerized testing
dementia
eHealth
early diagnosis
mild cognitive impairment
neuropsychological assessment
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11768/160677
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