Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in the United States, affecting one out of every nine older adults. However, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) can be difficult to diagnose, with physicians missing nearly half of all probable dementia cases. Rates of missed diagnosis are even higher among Black older adults. The majority of physicians do not regularly screen their patients with cognitive tests, due mostly to a lack of time during their face-to-face time with patients. Thus, there is a clear need for a quick, objective test that can be administered by medical staff prior to the physician's time with the patient, which will prompt cognitive testing or a specialist referral for follow-up when there is concern for AD/ADRD. Since research has shown that motor regions in the brain are affected early in the progression of AD, the long-term goal of Neurosessments LLC is to develop a motor test that will help improve dementia detection in primary care that is appropriate for older adults from diverse backgrounds. Prior research by the Neurosessments LLC team has developed an experimental version of a motor test that can identify dementia, predict functional decline, and detect brain amyloid, regardless of the patient's educational attainment, sex, or age. The overall objective of this Phase I SBIR is to adapt the original version of this motor test into a quick (<2 minutes) and easy to administer version called qBEANS (quick Behavioral Exam to Advance Neuropsychological Screening) for medical staff to use. The specific aims are to 1) determine the reliability and racial equity of a short version of the motor test and 2) develop a digital user interface for administering and scoring the motor test that is usable in a clinical setting. Achieving these aims will lead to a Phase II SBIR that deploys qBEANS within primary care offices and community health clinics to increase rates of cognitive testing and improve dementia detection. This proposal is innovative in its use of motor behavior to detect probable dementia in its early stages, and its development of tools for intended use in primary care. The commercialization plan is to sell single-use test kits to medical providers for use in primary care settings to annually screen adults ages 65 and older. Through routine screening, primary care providers will be able to identify individuals whose scores indicate possible dementia, informing providers of whether or not to perform additional cognitive testing or refer to specialists for possible diagnosis of AD/ADRD. The societal impact is that it will improve the rates of early dementia diagnosis, giving older adults and their families the gift of time to make decisions about treatment options, legal plans, personal care plans, and finances.
Public Health Relevance Statement: PROJECT NARRATIVE Although Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in the United States, nearly half of all probable dementia cases are missed or delayed, in part because primary care physicians are unable to detect problems without sensitive screening tools. Based on scientific evidence that specific motor deficits may indicate early-stage AD, this Phase I SBIR will develop a clinically feasible motor test (qBEANS) that will immediately inform primary care providers about whether they should conduct cognitive testing or refer for further evaluation. This test will provide objective information about brain changes that indicate early AD- related dementia in their patients, which will empower care providers, patients, and their families to seek diagnostic testing and develop appropriate care plans.
Project Terms: 21+ years old; Adult Human; adulthood; Adult; Affect; ages; Age; advanced age; elders; geriatric; late life; later life; older adult; older person; senior citizen; Elderly; AD dementia; Alzheimer Type Dementia; Alzheimer disease dementia; Alzheimer sclerosis; Alzheimer syndrome; Alzheimer's; Alzheimers Dementia; Primary Senile Degenerative Dementia; primary degenerative dementia; senile dementia of the Alzheimer type; Alzheimer's Disease; Amyloid Substance; Amyloid; Arizona; Black race; Black; Brain; Brain Nervous System; Encephalon; Brain Pathology; Cause of Death; Copyright; Decision Making; Diagnosis; Disease; Disorder; Family; Goals; Judgment; Medical Staff; Memory; Movement; body movement; Neuropsychology; Neuropsychologies; neuropsychologic; Online Systems; On-Line Systems; online computer; web based; Paper; Legal patent; Patents; Patient Education; Patient Instruction; Patient Training; Patients; Physicians; Primary Care Physician; Probability; Publishing; Diagnostic Reagent Kits; diagnostic kit; test kit; Recommendation; Research; Rights; Self Care; personal care; Students; Nursing Students; Pupil Nurses; Technology; Testing; Time; United States; Universities; Diagnostic tests; Specialist; Caring; nursing administration; improved; Site; Clinical; Phase; Medical; Link; Evaluation; screening tools; Screening procedure; white American; caucasian American; brain atrophy; cortical atrophy; cerebral atrophy; Individual; Intellectual Property; Knowledge; Life; Adopted; Clinic; System; Dementia; Amentia; Visit; American; human old age (65+); 65+ years old; Aged 65 and Over; age 65 and greater; age 65 and older; aged 65 and greater; aged â¥65; old age; empowerment; Agreement; Patient Self-Report; Self-Report; technological innovation; motor deficit; Sampling; Kidney Bean; Gifts; Provider; Membrum superius; Upper Limb; Upper Extremity; Legal; Data; Detection; Motor; Research Training; Cognitive; Collection; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; SBIR; Small Business Innovation Research; Process; sex; follow-up; Active Follow-up; active followup; follow up; followed up; followup; Community Health; community-based health; Behavioral; pre-clinical; preclinical; decline in function; decline in functional status; functional status decline; functional decline; digital; Clinical assessments; innovate; innovative; innovation; usability; AD detection; Alzheimer's detection; Alzheimer disease detection; tool development; commercial application; commercialization; primary care setting; clinical practice; screenings; screening; cognitive assessment; cognitive testing; AD pathology; Alzheimer's pathology; Alzheimer's disease pathology; power analysis; Research Assistant; care providers; early screening; annual screening; routine screening; AD related dementia; ADRD; Alzheimer's and related dementias; Alzheimer's disease and related dementia; Alzheimer's disease and related disorders; Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia; Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder; Alzheimer's disease or related dementia; Alzheimer's disease related dementia; motor behavior; Alzheimer's diagnosis; Alzheimer's disease diagnosis; Alzheimer's brain; Alzheimer's disease brain; Racial Equity; Black American; primary care provider; Primary Care
