TapTalkTest Project:Development of a Non-invasive Screening Test to Detect Risk of Alzheimer's Disease Pathology

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA · Oct 29, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This is an observational study called TapTalkTest, aiming to develop a simple, smartphone-based screening tool to detect the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Researchers will test two groups: a large, ongoing ISLAND cohort of adults aged 50 and older with normal thinking skills, and a clinic group of adults aged 50+ who have persistent cognitive symptoms. The TapTalk app will record hand movements and speech during quick tasks, combined with a blood test for ptau181, to see if patterns in movement and speech can indicate early AD risk or predict future cognitive problems. The goal is to measure how accurately TapTalk can identify people at risk, both before symptoms appear and after symptoms emerge, using standard benchmarks like AUC and other statistics.

Who is eligible and what to expect: For the normal-cognition group (Aims 1 & 2), adults over 50 who are part of the ISLAND study, have provided a blood sample, and do not show cognitive impairment on a specific test can participate; those with clear cognitive impairment on that test are excluded. For the cognitive-symptom group (Aim 3), adults over 50 with more than 3 months of persistent cognitive symptoms may participate. Participants may complete TapTalk testing online about once a year, with some in-person visits to check usability and to do standard cognitive assessments and diagnoses. The study is running in Tasmania, Australia, led by the University of Tasmania, and recruitment is ongoing with completion planned around 2025–2026.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• • AIM 1 AND AIM 2 Eligibility criteria
• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Adults \>50 years old who are participants in the ISLAND Project and who have provided a blood sample and have normal cognition and no persistent (\>3 months) cognitive symptoms will be eligible.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Impaired cognition, defined by a validated cut-off score \>1.5 SD above the mean total errors adjusted for age and gender on the Paired Associates Learning sub-test of CANTAB.
• • AIM 3 Eligibility criteria Inclusion Criteria: \>3 months of persistent cognitive symptoms (patient- or family-reported) and \>50 years old.
• • Exclusion criteria: Acutely unwell, significant impairment of hand function, or known diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia.