Biomarkers

Remote digital cognitive assessments have great potential to address major unmet needs in global healthcare services. Early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the prediction and monitoring of disease progression represents an ideal use case given the scale of the disease and the limitations of legacy approaches. However, for remote digital assessments to be deployed at greatest benefit to both user and provider stakeholders, new frameworks for their use will need to be put in place to deliver best practice and maintain fitness for purpose into the future.

The expert group REMOTE-AD, funded through the EU Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), brings together a multinational and multidisciplinary expert group to provide a framework and standards for the future use of remote digital cognitive assessments in early AD.

REMOTE-AD is structured into four groups working on 1.) Determination of the unmet needs in AD clinical practice that can be addressed with remote digital assessments, 2.) Delivery of a framework for identification and appraisal of appropriate measures and measurement technologies for differing use cases, 3) Evaluation of social and ethical considerations relating to the deployment of remote digital assessments and 4) Design of systems for future implementation. Two workshops will be convened to outline scope of work and then to finalize recommendations. Here we will present results arising from the first workshop.

Remote digital tools form part of the future of AD management but any plans for deployment are currently limited by the absence of frameworks and systems for their usage. REMOTE-AD has been assembled to address this need and its outputs will benefit healthcare services in the EU and worldwide.