At-Home Screening for Alzheimer’s Disease

The Clock Drawing Test is a paper-and-pencil screening exams for cognitive impairment utilized by healthcare professionals.  Ellen Yi-Luen Do, from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia, USA), and colleagues have devised the ClockMe system, that is based on the Clock Drawing Test but eliminates the paper trail and computerizes the test into two main components: the ClockReader Application and the ClockAnalyzer Application.  ClockReader is the actual test and is taken with a stylus and computer or tablet. The participant is given a specific time and instructed to draw a clock with numbers and the correct minute and hour hands. Once completed, the sketch is emailed to a clinician, who uses the ClockAnalyzer Application to score the test. The software checks for 13 traits. In addition to scoring automatically and consistently, ClockAnalyzer records the duration of the test and the time between each stroke. The software also replays the drawing in real-time, allowing a clinician to watch the drawing being created to observe any behavior abnormality. The ClockMe system was initially tested at the Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (Georgia), where all of the elderly patients who used the software during the study said they had no problems with the pen-based, computer technology.  The study authors conclude that: “The study shows the potential of computing technologies that can advance the current practice of dementia screening.”