The smartphone opens up completely new possibilities for diagnosing, monitoring and treating illnesses. A self-test with a special app can also detect the signs of Alzheimer’s with high reliability, which enables early treatment.
Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the USA have successfully tested an app that identifies “mild cognitive impairments” as potential harbingers of Alzheimer’s can. The corresponding study results are published in the specialist magazine “npj Digital Medicine”.
No independent test possible?
Impaired memory is a typical feature of Alzheimer’s disease. The severity and temporal development of such memory problems play a central role in the diagnosis of the disease, but also in Alzheimer’s research.
However, such tests have so far been relatively complex and require instructions from a medical professional in order to obtain meaningful results. It has not yet been possible to carry out this independently.
This is now set to change with a newly developed app by the start-up “neotiv” from Magdeburg, where study author Professor Emrah Düzel works as “Chief Medical Officer”. The app enables independent memory tests without the need for professional supervision.
High accuracy app
In their current study, the researchers were able to demonstrate with 199 participants over the age of 60 that the app detects “mild cognitive impairments” with high accuracy. Such impairments are considered early warning signs of an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
According to the researchers, the app runs on smartphones and tablets and is already being used in Alzheimer’s research and is now also offered as a diagnostic tool for doctors’ practices for the early detection of mild cognitive impairments.
Advantages of independent testing
“It has advantages if you can carry out such tests yourself and first have to go to a practice to evaluate the results. Just as we know from a long-term ECG, for example,” emphasizes Prof. Emrah Düzel from the Magdeburg University Medical Center.
“This technology has enormous potential to provide doctors with information that cannot be determined when a patient visits the clinic,” adds Dr. David Berron, research group leader at the DZNE and also co-founder of neotiv.
Three categories of memory tasks
According to experts, the app is interactive and includes three types of memory tasks, each targeting different areas of the brain that may be affected at different stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Essentially, the tests are about remembering images or recognizing differences between images.
“Our study shows that memory problems can be meaningfully assessed using this digital procedure,” sums up Professor Düzel. If the test result is abnormal, a clinical examination can be initiated and if the result is within the age-specific normal range, the all-clear can be given for the time being.
Further studies are now being prepared or have already begun, with the new memory test primarily being tested on even larger study groups. According to the research team, it also needs to be clarified whether the app can be used to track the development of Alzheimer’s disease over a longer period of time. (fp)
