Digital cognitive test helps GPs quickly spot early signs of Alzheimer’s disease

Tanya Weaver Mon 15 Sep 2025

Collected at: https://eandt.theiet.org/2025/09/15/new-digital-cognitive-test-helps-gps-quickly-spot-early-signs-alzheimers

A digital test could help primary care doctors quickly identify memory problems linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a test that patients can take on their own using a tablet computer. It tests the patient’s cognitive abilities, including memory and attention. The results will indicate to primary care doctors whether the patient needs to continue the assessment process for Alzheimer’s disease.

Oskar Hansson, professor of neurology at Lund University and study lead, said: “This digital test improves the primary care physician’s ability to determine who should be further examined by blood tests for Alzheimer’s pathology early in the investigation phase.”

Alzheimer’s disease affects millions of people worldwide. It’s a progressive condition, in which brain cells are slowly damaged and die – leading to memory loss, confusion and difficulties with thinking and daily tasks.

However, other conditions such as depression, fatigue or other dementias can cause similar cognitive impairment, so it is not necessarily the result of Alzheimer’s disease. 

As a result, early and accurate diagnosis is important. In this study, the researchers have developed a digital test for use by physicians in primary care to provide a detailed picture of any cognitive impairment. 

Pontus Tideman, doctoral student at Lund University and psychologist at the Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital, said: “The vast majority of people who experience memory loss will first seek treatment at their health centre. Our new digital test provides a first objective picture – at an earlier stage and with greater precision – of which patients have cognitive impairment indicative of Alzheimer’s disease.”

The BioCog test measures aspects and variables that cannot easily be measured using traditional pen-and-paper tests, such as how long it takes the patient to search among the words or how quickly they tap the screen. 

The combination of the sub-tests produces a result that the researchers say is highly likely to indicate whether or not the patient has a cognitive impairment. With these results, the physician can then decide which patients to refer to specialist memory clinics for blood tests.

Linda Karlsson, MSc in engineering physics and doctoral student at Lund University, said: “The unique aspect of our BioCog test is that unlike other digital tests, it has been evaluated in a primary care population. Combining the results of the digital test and the blood test increases the accuracy of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. The purpose of the test is to make things easier for primary care doctors.”