From feasibility to neuroanatomic validity of remote cognitive smartphone assessments in early Alzheimer’s disease

Digital health technologies (DHT) offer a promising solution to the timely identification of early Alzheimer’s disease (eAD) to enable early treatment. This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, adherence, reliability, and preliminary clinical and content validity of the novel AD Digital Assessment Suite (AD-DAS). 123 individuals (32 healthy controls (HC), 31 amyloid-PET negative (SCDn), 30 amyloid-PET positive (SCDp) with subjective cognitive decline, and 30 early AD (eAD)) participated. AD-DAS was remotely deployed for 28 days.

Remote testing was feasible (97.6% completers), acceptable (>85% “good”), and associated with high adherence (96%). Metrics showed moderate to excellent test-retest reliability (ICC 0.53–0.91), associations with clinical comparators (adjusted R2 0.01–0.24), differentiated eAD from other known groups (absolute log odds differences 0.6–3.28), and correlated with brain atrophy in expected regions. Episodic and working memory AD-DAS metrics differentiated SCDp from SCDn participants.

These preliminary findings suggest that AD-DAS may be a promising tool for detecting cognitive impairments in early AD stages. This study was registered in the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) registry (ID: ISRCTN17035495) on July 25, 2020. This work was funded by F.

We extend our appreciation to the participants, their study partners, and site staff. We also acknowledge the invaluable insights and guidance provided by Dr. Kami Kosek, and the Roche expert reviewers.

Present address: Global Product Development Data Science & Analytics, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland Arnaud M. Wolfer, Raphael Ullmann & Emma Poon Present address: Computational Sciences Center of Excellence, F.

Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland Present address: Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Basel, Switzerland Present address: Shionogi Inc., Florham Park, NJ, USA Present address: Indivi AG, Basel, Switzerland Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel, Switzerland Kirsten I. Kurniawan, Miguel Veloso, Eduardo A.