V A LUE ADDED: USG Serves Georgia February 2008 Because o its length and expense, the test is not used as a regular screening tool and typically is given only ater there is obvious cognitive impairment such as orgetulness or unsae behavior. “Families usually wait until their mom or dad does something somewhat dangerous, like orgetting to take their medications or getting lost, beore bringing them in or testing. At that point, the patient has already lost a signicant portion o t heir cognitive unction,” said Dr . David Wright, who helped develop the device. Wright is assistant proessor o emergenc y medicine at Emory University School o Medicine and co-director o the Emory Emergency Medicine Research Center. “With this device, we might be able to pick up impairment well beore those serious symptoms occur and start patients on medications that could delay those symptoms.” The Georgia Tech/Emory device, called DETECT, gives individuals a roughly 10- minute test designed to gauge reaction time and memory – unctions that, when impaired, are associated with the earliest stages o Alzheimer’ s disease. The test is a specially modied, shortened version o the traditional pen-and-paper test and could be given repeatedly by doctors to evaluate any changes in cognitive unctions. “We really envision this to b e part o the normal preventative care a patient receives rom a general practitioner,” said Dr . Michelle LaPlaca , one o the creators o the device and an associate proessor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department o Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and See “ DETECT ,” Page 2 T he latest medications can delay the onset o Alzheimer’ s disease, but none are able to reverse its devastating eects. This limitation oten makes early detection the key to Alzheimer’ s patients maintaining a good quality o lie or as long as possible. Now, a new device developed by Georgia Tech and Emory University may allow patients to take a brie, inexpensive test that could be administered as part o a routine yearly checkup at a doctor’s oce to detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI) – oten the earliest stage o Alzheimer’s. Researchers expect to commercialize the device later this year. Current assessment tests capable o detecting early Alzheimer’s typically are taken with a pen and paper or at a computer terminal and last about 90 minutes. The test must be given by a trained technician in a quiet environment, because any distractions can infuence the patient’s score and reduce the test’s eectiveness. Portable Device Quickly Detects Alzheimer’ s Early Stages The DETECT system includes an LCD display in a visor with an onboard dedicated computer and noise reduction headphones.