summary: Researchers have developed CognoSpeak, an innovative AI tool aimed at streamlining the diagnosis of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
The tool utilizes a virtual agent to engage patients in cognitive tests and analyze language and speech patterns to provide rapid and efficient assessment. CognoSpeak can be accessed from her web browser so patients can be tested at home.
Initial trials have shown that the tool is 90% accurate in distinguishing between people with Alzheimer’s disease and cognitively healthy individuals.
Important facts:
- CognoSpeak uses AI and voice technology to assess early signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, achieving 90% accuracy in early trials.
- The tool can be accessed from a web browser, allowing patients to be tested from home.
- With a £1.4 million grant from the NIHR, CognosSpeak is being tested more extensively in UK memory clinics with a target of 700 participants.
sauce: University of Sheffield
A new AI tool has been developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield to help doctors assess early signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease more quickly and efficiently.
Known as CognoSpeak, the system uses a virtual agent that appears on the screen to talk to patients. It asks memory-probing questions inspired by questions used in ambulatory care, and administers cognitive tests such as picture descriptions and verbal fluency tests.
The tool then uses artificial intelligence and voice technology to analyze language and speech patterns, looking for signs of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other memory problems.
The researchers behind the technology believe that CognoSpeak could play a key role in reducing the burden on dementia assessment services once further testing is completed in GPs and secondary care memory practice clinics across the UK. says it has the potential.
The system is designed to work between primary and secondary care. This means that, once fully deployed, general practitioners can introduce people with memory impairments to the use of this technology.
CognoSpeak will send the test results back to the GP, who will decide if the patient should be referred to a memory clinic for further evaluation.
You can access CognoSpeak from your web browser. This means patients no longer have to wait for a hospital appointment to be tested with pen and paper, but can be tested in the comfort of their own home using a computer, laptop or tablet. It can cause undue stress and anxiety.
Early trials show the technology is as accurate in predicting Alzheimer’s disease as current pen-and-paper-based tests used to assess and screen for disorders of cognition, memory and thinking. .
The researchers demonstrated that they could distinguish Alzheimer’s patients from cognitively healthy people with 90 percent accuracy.
The CognoSpeak system, developed by Dr Dan Blackburn and Professor Heidi Christensen from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Neuroscience and Computer Science, is still in the research stage, but has received a £1.4m grant from the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (NIHR). Developed with money. ), the technique has been tried more extensively. The researchers are recruiting his 700 participants from memory clinics across the UK to help further develop the system.
“Waiting for a possible diagnosis of dementia can be a very anxious time for patients and their families,” said Dan Blackburn, Ph.D., of the Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield. It helps you start treatment sooner, reduce waiting times and give you more certainty sooner.
“The CognoSpeak system has the potential to change the way dementia and other memory disorders are diagnosed by speeding up assessment. people who are affected will be able to get treatment as soon as possible.”
Professor Heidi Christensen, Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, said: “The way a person speaks can tell us a lot about their cognitive and emotional health, and can give early signs of cognitive decline.” Not detected.
“The system we developed in Sheffield uses voice technology to automatically extract these signs, and the automation will allow us to give everyone a consistent, accurate and fast assessment.
“CognoSpeak is advanced, high-tech, and based on world-leading research in the field. I am making use of it.”
The CognoSpeak tool was developed in partnership with Therapy Box, a specialist in spoken language technology, and the Dignified Medical Device Cooperative (D4D) at the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), a leading initiative for patients and families. . A minority community group to ensure AI is acceptable, trustworthy, and accessible to all future users.
The research team is also working to make this tool available to patients from minority communities who are less likely to attend dementia services and who may speak English as an additional language.
Lise Sproson, Director of Patient and Public Engagement at D4D, said: “We work closely with a wide range of community groups, including the Israeli Somali Community Association in Sheffield, to jointly develop the look and feel of the CognoSpeak system and ensure that it is acceptable.” , relevant and easy to use.
“We are training our AI to speak English as an additional language with different UK regional accents to maintain the accuracy previously demonstrated in tests with native English speakers across the population. ”
Dr. Blackburn, Emeritus Consultant Neurologist at the Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Research Fellow at the NIHR Sheffield BRC, added:
“There are long waiting lists for memory clinics across the UK, but there are also inequalities when it comes to getting services from memory clinics. CognoSpeak tools help reduce these inequalities and make services more efficient. ”
About 900,000 people in the UK are currently living with dementia, and that number is expected to nearly double by 2040, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Referrals for evaluation are increasing rapidly, and long wait times are often experienced at memory clinics.
Professor Mike Lewis, director of the i4i program at the NIHR, said: “Cognospeak is an innovative example of how digital health technology can transform how we approach conditions such as dementia, making patient discovery and assessment easier and more accessible. help find the right treatment and support. ”
Patients are being recruited to the CognoSpeak trial through memory clinics across the UK. To join the trial, please visit www.cognospeak.com.
About this Artificial Intelligence and Dementia Research News
author: Dan Blackburn
sauce: University of Sheffield
contact: Dan Blackburn – University of Sheffield
image: Images are certified by Neuroscience News
