As the worldwide incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continues to rises, so too does new and advanced technology for early detection of AD symptoms. One such online assessment tool was developed by a company called “Neurotrack,” specifically to assess and monitor signs of cognitive decline.
Neurotrack is based in Palo Alto, California. The company has developed cutting edge technology designed as an easy to access online tool for people to use in order to establish a cognitive function baseline, and then proceed to track their own progress as time goes on. Most recently, Neurotrack has been collaborating with physicians to test its new eye tracking technology called the “Imprint Check-up Tool.
Neurotrack’s Imprint Check-up Tool
Neurotrack currently offers a FREE digital tool called “Imprint Check-Up” designed to evaluate eye movements via a computer camera. The Imprint Check-up tool evaluates the functionality of a specific type of memory called “declarative memory.” This is the type of memory a person uses to access stored memories in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the area of the brain where memory loss is believed to first occur in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease
One of the most exciting aspects of early detection of AD is perhaps the fact that people will be able to get involved in clinical trials much earlier in the disease process. It’s thought that many clinical trials for early AD prevention therapies failed because study participants were already in the advanced phase of the disease,(after the memory begins to fail). During the initial symptomatic phases of AD, there may already be permanent brain damage. Scientists speculate that this may have caused the failure of many new drug trials, while posing phenomenal expense for the pharmaceutical companies. Once earlier detection of AD can be established, researchers hope it will open doors for finding new and effective treatment, which can be administered early enough in the disease process to slow down the progression (or possibly even prevent advanced symptoms of the disease altogether).
The Imprint Check-up Tool for Cognitive Function Evaluation
Dr. Richard Isaacson uses the Neurotrack tool (in addition to many other tests) to evaluate the cognitive function of his patients at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Alzheimer’s prevention Clinic in New York. “I’ve become a big fan of easy to administer tests like this that in my opinion, may be the most optimal path toward the future of early detection” said Dr. Isaacson, referring to Neurotrack’s web based Imprint Check-Up tool. He also points out that although the tool may help to identify early signs of cognitive decline in those who partake in the test,it is NOT a tool that can definitively diagnose AD. Rather, the Neurotrack assessment tool may be most helpful in establishing a baseline of cognitive function to use for comparative data over a period of time. “The holy grail of Alzheimer’s prevention is having a test that can diagnose a person before they’re symptomatic,“says Isaacson.
Learn more about Neurotrack or take the free online Imprint Check-up tool by CLICKING HERE.
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