Scientists in Sweden have created a new digital tool designed to improve the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, offering primary care doctors a more precise alternative to traditional pen-and-paper memory tests.
Cleveland Clinic defined alzheimer’s disease as a brain condition that slowly damages your memory, thinking, learning and organizing skills.
The programme, developed at Lund University, measures how quickly patients can recall words, process information and respond to questions on a screen.
Unlike existing tests that mainly focus on recall exercises such as drawing a clock or naming objects, the digital version times responses and evaluates accuracy, giving doctors a more detailed overview of a patient’s cognitive abilities.
Patients using the tool are asked to memorise a list of words, identify the correct date, and later recognise the previously remembered words when mixed with new ones.
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The system also records how fast patients can tap the correct answer, providing additional insights into cognitive speed and function.
“Primary care does not have the resources, time or specialist knowledge to investigate possible Alzheimer’s disease in the same way as specialised memory clinics. And this is where a digital cognitive test can make the biggest difference, ” said Professor Oskar Hansson, a neurologist at Lund University.
At present, blood tests that can detect these proteins with high accuracy are rarely available in the NHS, leaving clinicians heavily reliant on shorter, less sensitive memory tasks.
According to the researchers, combining the results of the new digital assessment with blood tests for tau could greatly increase diagnostic accuracy, particularly in busy general practice settings.
“Our new digital test provides a first objective picture – at an earlier stage and with greater precision – of which patients have cognitive impairment indicative of Alzheimer’s disease,” explained doctoral student Pontus Tideman, part of the research group at Lund University.
With dementia cases in the UK projected to rise from one million today to 1.4 million by 2040, experts believe that earlier and more precise detection methods will be critical in helping patients and families access treatment and support sooner.
