DANA; A Tool to Detect Cognitive Changes in Pre-clinical and MCI Patients

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Project Summary/Abstract The goal of this proposed two phase project is to develop the Digital Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment (DANA) app into a tool that can be easily used by patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and can provide clinicians with meaningful data in the tracking and diagnosis of these conditions. DANA is an FDA-cleared neurocognitive assessment tool that has been previously used with similar populations and has been shown to be a valid and reliable method for screening cognitive functioning and tracking changes in cognitive functioning over time. The specific aims of the proposal are: in Phase I (1) Determine technical feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of high-frequency cognitive testing with DANA; in Phase II (2) Technical development of DANA for in-home use; and (3) Establish predictive validity of DANA for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. In Phase I, this project will implement a pilot study. MCI patients and normal controls will take DANA both in-clinic and at home in order to examine the feasibility of this population using DANA in the home and DANA’s ability to discriminate between healthy and impaired users. In Phase II, this project will build on the results of Phase I to technically refine the DANA tool to better fit the needs of MCI patients. The refined app will be deployed in an experiment, involving MCI patients and normal controls, that will establish the predictive validity of DANA for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.