A trial study of using DSST to evaluate cognitive impairment in older adults

Non-invasive means of monitoring mild cognitive impairments (MCI) is recently gaining popularity. With the advent of easy to use physiological sensors, there have been an outburst of studies from the last decade which aim at detecting a target’s mental health condition. However, not many studies present the experience or insights gained from carrying out such in-situ research work, particularly when working with older adults. Such insights could not only assist researchers in related areas when designing their study but also avoid potential pitfalls. Clinical trials were conducted by our organization in collaboration with the Geriatric Educational Research Institute, Singapore (GERI) and Singapore Management University (SMU) for detecting mild cognitive impairments in a geriatric population. Digitized versions of the standard pen & paper psychological tests were used along with gaze tracking technologies for MCI detection. Details of our user study and it’s outcomes are discussed as well as a generic approach of digitizing any given psychological test battery is highlighted.