Communications of the ACM
Apple, Eli Lilly, Evidation Present First Results From Digital Alzheimer's Study
Symptomatic study participants tended to type more slowly and showed less routine behaviors related to their phone usage.
Credit: Getty Images
A 12-week study by drugmaker Eli Lilly, Apple, and Evidation Health found consumer devices and mobile apps could potentially help identify people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia associated with Alzheimer's disease. The researchers employed iPhones, Apple Watches, iPads, and Beddit sleep monitors to measure digital biomarkers as symptoms of cognitive and behavioral difficulty.
Evidation constructed a study platform to consent, cull, and analyze at least 16 terabytes of data collected from 113 participants. Passive sensor data, questionnaires about mood and energy, and quantification from activities like motor skill tests, was combined to assess subjects' cognition; once validated, the biomarkers could be used to track the progression of Alzheimer's symptoms, and test treatment effectiveness.
"With further study, we may be able to screen people at high risk or detect dementia and Alzheimer's earlier with the devices we use in our everyday lives," says Evidation's Christine Lemke.
From Fierce Biotech
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Abstracts Copyright © 2019 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA
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