Wearable Sensor for Early Detection and Monitoring of Cognitive Decline

Understanding someone's language abilities through analyzing their speech using digital tools can be a new, relevant way to find early signs of dementia. Past research shows that changes in a person's speech can accurately reflect the severity of dementia and could even predict cognitive decline before a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is made. Clinical trials have shown that changes in speech can be more noticeable than using traditional screening methods, like the MMSE. Moreover, recent findings suggest that speech changes related to cognitive decline over time aren't influenced by practice or learning effects. Separately, our own research has found that observing people while they're doing two things at once, like walking and talking (known as dual-tasking), can help identify people with mild cognitive impairment, which is an early stage of AD. So, with the support of the studies mentioned above, the goal of this study is to better detect early signs of dementia using everyday behaviors, such as dual-task activities and speech patterns, like how long a person talks while walk at the same time. Investigators intend to create a cheap, simple-to-use pendant device that tracks these behaviors, allowing us to predict small changes in cognitive and motor functions over time. This is an observational, minimally invasive study. There are four clinic visits (baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months) each followed by 7 days of monitoring. Research staff will supervise tests for all assessments to minimize the risk associated tests such as gait and balance assessments. All in-clinic visits will be conducted at UCLA Health sites.