Pilots

Publication: Data-driven discovery of movement-linked heterogeneity in neurodegenerative diseases. Nature Machine Intelligence

Authors: Mark Endo, Favour Nerrise, Qingyu Zhao, Edith V Sullivan, Li Fei-Fei, Victor W Henderson, Kilian M Pohl, Kathleen L Poston, Ehsan Adeli Abstract Neurodegenerative diseases manifest different motor and cognitive signs and symptoms that are highly heterogeneous. Parsing these heterogeneities may lead to an improved understanding of underlying disease mechanisms; however current methods are dependent on clinical assessments and somewhat arbitrary choice of behavioral tests. Herein, we present a data-driven subtyping approach using video-captured human motion and brain functional connectivity (FC) from resting-state (rs)-fMRI. We applied our framework to a cohort of individuals at different stages of Parkinson's disease (PD). The process mapped the data to low-dimensional measures by projecting them onto a canonical correlation space that identified three PD subtypes: Subtype I was characterized by motor difficulties and poor visuospatial abilities; Subtype II exhibited difficulties in non-motor…

Continue ReadingPublication: Data-driven discovery of movement-linked heterogeneity in neurodegenerative diseases. Nature Machine Intelligence

NIH Research Highlight: 2024 NIH Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias Research Progress Report – Understanding Risk and Protective Factors for Dementia | Spotlight: Blood pressure and dementia risk

The pilot project led by Ed Wang was spotlighted in the 2024 NIH Alzheimer's and Related Dementias annual research project report in the section focused on understanding the associated risk dementia factor of uncontrolled high blood pressure. Results from this early pilot study demonstrate the potential of smartphone-based blood pressure devices, which in the near future could help improve the accessibility of long-term blood pressure monitoring. This improved improved access to low-cost blood pressure monitoring has the potential to reduce a major contributing factor to dementia risk. Source: 2024 NIH Alzheimer's and Related Dementias Research Progress Report: Advances and Achievements

Continue ReadingNIH Research Highlight: 2024 NIH Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias Research Progress Report – Understanding Risk and Protective Factors for Dementia | Spotlight: Blood pressure and dementia risk

Oral Presentation: Alzheimer’s Association International Conference

Title: Automated Physical Performance Battery as a Digital Marker for Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive ImpairmentPresenter: Ehsan Adeli (PI) Abstract: Historically, screening for incidence of AD-related MCI or conversion from MCI to AD dementia has relied on cognitive, activities of daily living, and brain imaging measures. Limitations of this diagnostic approach include dependency on education and language, time-consuming and costly measures, and long-term monitoring. Emerging studies suggest that non-tremor motor dysfunction in dementias is known to be highly associated with AD biomarkers, with signs of cognitive decline visible in gait and hand movement at various stages of the illness. With the evidence that gait and physical disturbances are early predictors of cognitive impairment and that their trajectories could readily be tracked, we utilize recent advances in computer vision (CV) to quantify mobility in a data-driven…

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New Product Versions: Sonde Health Introduces Innovative Cognitive Fitness Health Tracking Solution

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sonde Health is expanding its leading health monitoring platform beyond mental and respiratory fitness by introducing an innovative cognitive fitness tracker that allows users to monitor brain exertion, or cognitive effort, in real time. This new solution, called Sonde Cognitive Fitness, analyzes eight vocal characteristics from 30-second voice interactions and generates a score to provide insight into one’s cognitive state, helping people manage their mental well-being and productivity effectively. By tracking their cognitive fitness, individuals can identify and monitor cognitive effort levels, take steps to optimize their productivity and performance, and enhance their well-being by reducing cognitive strain. Sonde Cognitive Fitness launches as almost one in five people over age 50 worldwide is affected by mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and more than 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia — a figure that's projected to nearly triple by 2050. In early July, the U.S. Food…

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Oral Presentation: Precision Phenotyping of Mild Behavioral Impairment and the Early Detection of Dementia

Abstract: There is growing recognition of the importance of changes in behavior as an early clinical marker of the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Behavior symptoms may precede the onset of cognitive symptoms by as many as three years. However, these symptoms are often confused for primary psychiatric pathology and there is an urgent need for markers that can help quantify behaviors with the eventual goal of helping distinguish behavior changes related to psychiatric pathology from behavior changes related to the onset of dementia. This talk will summarize the state of knowledge on mild behavioral impairment, and present data from three studies demonstrating how a range of sensor-derived biomarkers can quantify subtle changes in behavior with precision. The talk will include case presentations around detection of apathy, agitation, pacing. It will also demonstrate how these markers…

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