CognoSpeak: How AI Can Power Early Alzheimer’s Detection
Memory disorders pose a serious challenge that greatly degrades people’s quality of life. As such, diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in their early stages is of paramount importance. CognoSpeak, an AI tool, is designed to facilitate this.
As per data from the World Health Organization, dementia affects over 55 million people globally. Each year, around 10 million new cases related to memory impairments are reported, and these are not limited to elderly patients. In light of such figures, there's a growing need for early diagnosis of cognitive disorders. To this end, researchers from the University of Sheffield propose the use of CognoSpeak, an AI tool.
AI has the potential to help pinpoint symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and other memory disorders. Source: https://twitter.com/CognoSpeak
CognoSpeak is a user-friendly and swift AI tool designed to detect early signs of memory impairment. Tested on healthy individuals, and patients with functional and neurodegenerative diseases, it demonstrates an accuracy level comparable to traditional cognitive tests. The AI model is continually learning to cater to the needs of not only English-speaking patients but also those who speak different languages.
How does CognoSpeak function?
All a patient needs to use CognoSpeak is a computer or smartphone. The tool is accessible via a web browser and requires prior registration.
CognoSpeak engages in a conversation with the patient, posing questions to assess memory, speech, and attention, and it administers cognitive tests akin to those used in outpatient consultations. In parallel, it evaluates a person's speech for patterns associated with pathological conditions. Upon completion of the examination, the system generates a report for the general practitioner. The project's creators affirm that CognoSpeak can detect Alzheimer's disease with up to 90% accuracy.
CognoSpeak: Saving Time for Patients and Doctors Source: https://www.cognospeak.com/
One of CognoSpeak's most significant advantages is its ability to conserve time for both doctors and patients. By integrating this tool into routine practice, people with memory disorder complaints can undergo testing and receive an objective evaluation. Depending on the results, they can either be reassured of having no serious conditions or, if they suspect an illness, seek further professional assistance.
This strategy will help alleviate the strain on the existing primary and specialized healthcare systems and lead to fewer delays in the examination and treatment of patients genuinely afflicted with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.
Project Team and Partners
Co-Principal Investigators for CognoSpeak are Professor Heidi Christensen and Dr. Dan Blackburn:
- Heidi Christensen, the technical lead of the project, is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science's Speech and Hearing Group at the University of Sheffield. She has more than 20 years of experience in researching speech technologies and has made globally recognized contributions to healthcare in this sector;
- Dr. Dan Blackburn, the clinical project leader, is a senior lecturer at the University of Sheffield and an honorary consultant neurologist. His scientific interests lie in the development of non-invasive, scalable diagnostic tests for early detection of dementia and cognitive impairments.
The CognoSpeak team also includes a healthcare economist, academic general practitioners, a psychiatrist, a neurology professor, a patient communication specialist, and other professionals.
Partners of the AI-neurological startup include:
- The University of Sheffield, which has representatives with international experience in creating automated non-invasive tools for interactive cognitive impairment evaluation;
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, which aids in participant recruitment and identification for the program, as well as data collection and storage;
- Therapy Box, a technology company that collaborates with scientists and clinicians to assess the impact of technologies on their work. CognoSpeak representatives, in collaboration with Therapy Box, have conducted workshops for patients with cognitive impairments and their families to assess the implementation of the AI tool in practice. They have also developed, with clinical doctors, ways to integrate it into existing primary and specialized healthcare systems;
- Devices for Dignity, a group specializing in developing technological solutions for patients with long-term conditions;
- Israac, a Somali community association.
Work on the project prototype began in 2016. Throughout the development of CognoSpeak, the team held sessions and workshops with stakeholders, interacting with patients experiencing memory problems, their family members, care professionals, general practitioners, neurologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, and nurses.
The project has recently secured a grant of £1.4 million from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to conduct trials in British clinics involving 700 patients.
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