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Remote and unsupervised digital memory assessments can reliably detect cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease
Berron D, Olsson E, Andersson F, Janelidze S, Tideman P, Düzel E, Palmqvist S, Stomrud E et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2024-06-12
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Introduction Remote unsupervised cognitive assessments have the potential to complement and facilitate cognitive assessment in clinical and research settings. Methods Here, we evaluate the usability, validity, and reliability of unsupervised remote memory assessments via mobile devices in individuals without dementia from the Swedish BioFINDER-2 study and explore their prognostic utility regarding future cognitive decline. Results Usability was rated positively; remote memory assessments showed good construct validity with traditional neuropsychological assessments and were significantly associated with tau-positron emission tomography and downstream magnetic resonance imaging measures. Memory performance at baseline was associated with future cognitive decline and prediction of future cognitive decline was further improved by combining remote digital memory assessments with plasma p-tau217. Finally, retest reliability was moderate for a single assessment and good for an aggregate of two sessions. Discussion Our results demonstrate that unsupervised digital memory assessments might be used for diagnosis and prognosis in Alzheimer's disease, potentially in combination with plasma biomarkers. Highlights Remote and unsupervised digital memory assessments are feasible in older adults and individuals in early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Digital memory assessments are associated with neuropsychological in-clinic assessments, tau-positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging measures. Combination of digital memory assessments with plasma p-tau217 holds promise for prognosis of future cognitive decline. Future validation in further independent, larger, and more diverse cohorts is needed to inform clinical implementation.
Key findings
- Results Usability was rated positively; remote memory assessments showed good construct validity with traditional neuropsychological assessments and were significantly associated with tau-positron emission tomography and downstream magnetic resonance imaging measures.
- Memory performance at baseline was associated with future cognitive decline and prediction of future cognitive decline was further improved by combining remote digital memory assessments with plasma p-tau217.
- Discussion Our results demonstrate that unsupervised digital memory assessments might be used for diagnosis and prognosis in Alzheimer's disease, potentially in combination with plasma biomarkers.
- Digital memory assessments are associated with neuropsychological in-clinic assessments, tau-positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging measures.
Why it matters
Remote memory tests done by people at home on mobile devices were usable, valid, and reliable, and were linked to tau PET scans and brain MRI measures, and memory performance predicted future cognitive decline, especially when combined with a blood marker called plasma p-tau217. This study is about improving diagnosis and prognosis, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
Limitations
This describes results in people without dementia at baseline within one research cohort (BioFINDER-2), so how well it performs for detecting impairment in a broader, real-world population isn't addressed here.
How this study scored 54/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 51 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 12.8 citations a year over 4 year(s) since 2024 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 13.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 8 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 51 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Oskar Hansson: h-index 148 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 38867417) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 54 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Berron, D., Olsson, E., Andersson, F., Janelidze, S., Tideman, P., Düzel, E., et al. (2024). Remote and unsupervised digital memory assessments can reliably detect cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13919
Vancouver
Berron D, Olsson E, Andersson F, Janelidze S, Tideman P, Düzel E, et al. Remote and unsupervised digital memory assessments can reliably detect cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2024. doi:10.1002/alz.13919. PMID: 38867417.
BibTeX
@article{berron2024-38867417,
author = {Berron, D. and Olsson, E. and Andersson, F. and Janelidze, S. and Tideman, P. and Düzel, E. and Palmqvist, S. and Stomrud, E. and others},
title = {{Remote and unsupervised digital memory assessments can reliably detect cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1002/alz.13919},
pmid = {38867417},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13919}
}
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