Researchers have developed a smartphone app that they say can help detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition that often leads to dementia.
The number of people who develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia each year is rising as Taiwan’s population ages, but early detection can enable doctors to manage the condition’s symptoms, Yuan Ze University researchers Chao Yao-keng (趙燿庚) and Lee Chien-cheng (李建誠) said last week.
The researchers and their team developed a smartphone app that they say can help people quickly and easily detect MCI, which has been expensive and time-consuming to detect.
Photo courtesy of Yuan Ze University via CNA
“Half of people with MCI develop dementia within five years, and the condition progresses 10 to 15 percent each year after that,” Chao said. “It’s not reversible, and it costs families a lot of time and resources to treat someone with dementia, so early detection is very important.”
The team worked with psychiatrists from Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in New Taipei City and was supported by US technology firm Qualcomm through the Qualcomm Innovate in Taiwan Challenge program in the development of the app.
The team analyzed video data from 48 patients and developed a testing model based on data amplification and artificial intelligence deep learning technologies, Chao said.
He said that 1,516 video clips, including 867 clips of people with MCI, were used during the development phase, he said.
The clips ranged in length from 5 minutes to 30 minutes, he added.
“Machine learning can be used to track eye movements and facial expressions,” he said, adding that the technology can “notice signs of dementia, such as gazing and certain lip movements.”
“We’ve achieved an accuracy of more than 80 percent with the program,” he added.
The team is planning to expand their research and develop an automatic detection solution for MCI, he said.
“If the software passes review, it would make it possible for those with dementia to seek medical treatment as soon as possible to prevent the deterioration of the condition,” he said.
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