Communications of the ACM
Home-Based Assessment Tool For Dementia Screening
Georgia Tech researchers have created a tool that allows adults to screen themselves for early signs of dementia. Pictured are professor Ellen Yi-Luen Do, left, and student Chih-Pin Hslao.
Credit: Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech researchers have developed ClockMe, a home-based software tool that allows adults to screen themselves for early signs of dementia.
ClockMe is based on the paper-and-pencil Clock Drawing Test, one of the most commonly used screening exams for cognitive impairment. "Our ClockMe System helps older adults identify early signs of impairment, while allowing clinicians to quickly analyze the test results and gain valuable insight into the patient's thought processes," says Georgia Tech researcher Ellen Yi-Luen Do.
The ClockMe system is broken up into the ClockReader Application and the ClockAnalyzer Application. The ClockReader calls for the patient to draw a clock with numbers and the correct minute and hour hands. Then the sketch is emailed to a clinician, who uses the ClockAnalyzer to score the test. ClockAnalyzer scores the test automatically and consistently, and it records the duration of the test and the time between each stroke.
Electronic preservation of the drawings allows them to be used to compare an individual's cognitive ability progress or regression over time. The ClockMe system was initially tested at the Emory Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Atlanta, where it is currently being used in addition to the traditional paper-and-pencil test.
From Georgia Tech News
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