Background: Early diagnosis of cognitive disorders is becoming increasingly important. Limited resources for specialist assessment and an increasing demographical challenge warrants the need for efficient methods of evaluation. In response, CoGNIT, a tablet app for automatic, standardized, and efficient assessment of cognitive function, was developed. Included tests span the cognitive domains regarded as important for assessment in a general memory clinic (memory, language, psychomotor speed, executive function, attention, visuospatial ability, manual dexterity, and symptoms of depression).
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of automatic cognitive testing with CoGNIT in older patients with symptoms of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Methods: Patients older than 55 years with symptoms of MCI (n=36) were recruited at the research clinic at the Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Karlskrona, Sweden. A research nurse administered the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) and the CoGNIT app on a tablet computer. Technical and testing issues were documented.
Results: The test battery was completed by all 36 patients. One test, the four-finger-tapping test, was performed incorrectly by 42% of the patients. Issues regarding clarity of instructions were found in 2 tests (block design test and the one finger-tapping test). Minor software bugs were identified.
Conclusions: The overall feasibility of automatic cognitive testing with the CoGNIT app in patients with symptoms of MCI was good. The study highlighted tests that did not function optimally. The four-finger-tapping test will be discarded, and minor improvements to the software will be added before further studies and deployment in the clinic.
Keywords: app; assessment; cognition; cognitive impairment; cognitive testing; diagnosis; feasibility; impairment; internet; software; testing.
©Anders Behrens, Johan Sanmartin Berglund, Peter Anderberg. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 11.03.2022.