February 17, 2023 – Linus Health, a digital health company focused on transforming brain health, announced that the Goizueta Institute and The Seavey Clinic at Emory Healthcare are working with the company to implement innovative digital cognitive assessments in primary care. The collaboration is designed to evaluate and operationalize the use of digital technology to help primary care providers spot Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias at their earliest stages and intervene as early as possible.
An estimated 50 million people around the world currently have Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and that number is growing by almost 10 million people every year. Detecting early signs, namely at the mild cognitive impairment stage, maximizes the window of opportunity for intervention for patients – whether that involves clinical trials, existing drug treatments, lifestyle interventions, or a combination thereof. However, traditional cognitive testing methods, largely paper-based, have lacked sensitivity and practicality for PCPs – those best positioned to uncover cognitive impairment as early as possible in their older adult patients.
Linus Health’s Core Cognitive Evaluation is an iPad-based cognitive assessment solution that has its roots in the long-established clock drawing test for detecting signs of cognitive impairment. After acquiring the DCTclock™, a digital, AI-enhanced version of the test, Linus Health expanded it with additional testing capabilities, integrated clinical pathway support for navigating next steps, and actionable lifestyle-based intervention resources. Quick, sensitive, and action-oriented, the solution provides a practical tool for assessing cognition that is both patient and provider-friendly, making it feasible to use in primary care settings.
The project implementation comes at a time when major shifts are occurring in the treatment landscape for early Alzheimer’s disease. On January 6th, the FDA announced accelerated approval for lecanemab, now Leqembi, a new drug shown to reduce cognitive decline by 27% in individuals with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease (mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s) – one of few approved drug treatments shown to make an impact to-date.