Mass Screening for Cognitive Changes: Richard Gershon, PhD

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The vice chair for research at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine discussed the potential of the mobile toolbox battery to screen hundreds of thousands for cognitive impairment.

“During COVID, when we're dealing with, hopefully what's a once in a lifetime event where these health systems are overwhelmed, the mobile toolbox could potentially be used to screen thousands of people.”

Early detection of cognitive impairment due to neurodegenerative disease may be achieved with the Mobile Toolbox Battery (MTB), a mobile application, according to a study presented at the 2021 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting, April 17-22, by Sarah Pila, PhD, research assistant professor, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Pila and colleagues developed the MTB to safely, remotely, and effectively collect data from assessments that measure executive function, language, memory, and processing speed in adults. The battery consists of several assessments such as the Flanker, Face-Name; Memory for Sequence; Picture Sequence Memory; and Vocabulary, Number Match, Spelling, and Dimensional Charge Card Sort tests.

NeurologyLive spoke to senior author Richard Gershon, PhD, vice chair, research, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, to learn more about the potential of the MTB to screen hundreds of thousands of people for cognitive impairment or cognitive changes. He also discussed the potential of the MTB to be used to evaluate the effects of investigational treatments.

For more coverage of AAN 2021, click here.