Sensorized Motor and Cognitive Dual Task Framework for Dementia Diagnosis: Preliminary Insights From a...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) represent stages of cognitive decline in older adults.
• Early detection of MCI and SCI is crucial for timely intervention and management of potential dementia.
• Traditional diagnostic methods may not fully capture the nuances of early cognitive changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore novel motor and cognitive dual task (MCDT) approaches beyond traditional walking tasks.
• To evaluate various upper limb motor function (ULMF) and lower limb motor function (LLMF) based MCDT modalities.
• To compare the performance of cognitively healthy older adults (OA) with individuals diagnosed with MCI and SCI.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a wearable inertial system to assess motor performance in 44 older adults across five MCDTs.
• Included ULMF tasks (forefinger tapping [FTAP], thumb-forefinger tapping [THFF]) and LLMF tasks (toe tapping heel pin [TTHP], heel tapping toe pin [HTTP]).
• Incorporated 10-meter walking (GAIT) as a gold standard MCDT and analyzed pooled indices using logistic regression.

Main Results:

• In distinguishing MCI from OA, HTTP achieved 93% accuracy, TTHP and TTHF reached 89%, while FTAP and GAIT achieved 85%.
• In a three-class model (MCI vs. SCI vs. OA), TTHP showed a +9% improvement over HTTP.
• Models demonstrated effectiveness in identifying MCI, with TTHP achieving 88% recall and HTTP achieving 76% recall.

Conclusions:

• An integrated, sensorized MCDT framework shows significant potential for enhancing dementia understanding.
• These novel tasks, combined with clinical data, can serve as valuable diagnostic tools for clinicians.
• Further validation in clinical studies is recommended to confirm the ease and efficiency of these tasks.