View Menu
Development of CognoMND, an automated AI tool for early detection of cognitive and behavioural changes for people living with Motor Neuron Disease (MND).
Key Aims:
This project aims to improve clinical care for people living with Motor Neuron Disease (plwMND) via the development of CognoMNDTM, an automated assessment tool for early detection of cognitive and behavioural changes. By engaging with people with lived experience for co-development of CognoMND, it is hoped that the project will produce a tool that significantly meets the needs of plwMND and their caregivers.
Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) workshops, Lived Experience Advisory Group meetings and qualitative interviews have been conducted which have helped provide feedback on the development and use of the tool.
Since the project started, early prototypes have been developed and tested with healthy volunteers, plwMND and caregivers in a feasibility study. The acceptability, usability and tolerability of the online tool have also been explored and feedback will inform the development of the final prototype. As the team proceeds into the second half of the project, the study will validate the accuracy of CognoMND to track changes in cognition and behaviour in people with MND over time compared to the current screening tool, ECAS (the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen).
Impact:
Early screening of cognitive and behavioural changes is particularly important because these aspects of the disease are often overlooked and not always screened for. Changes in cognition and behaviour can have a significant impact on quality of life and can lead to distress in individuals affected by MND and their caregivers. Hence, early detection of these changes could improve the care, support and advice that is offered to plwMND and their caregivers that are affected by debilitating condition.
Project Team and Funding:
The CognoMND project is funded by the self-funded medical research organisation, LifeArc and led by Professor Chris McDermott and Dr Dan Blackburn (University of Sheffield) in collaboration with the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) in Long Term Conditions (Devices for Dignity), the NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), and the University of Edinburgh. The project started on the 1st July 2024 and is funded until the 30th June 2027.
More Links:
For more information on the project, please see the long and short video links below:
LifeArc Insights report:
The project team has contributed to a LifeArc report entitled ‘MND Insights: How technology can help with challenges of daily living’. This report features feedback on challenges faced by plwMND as well as a case study on CognoMNDTM following a workshop with an LifeArc insights group. Please find the report here: MND Insights Report
Additional Information
CognoMND: Improving Access to Cognitive Screening in Motor Neuron Disease - LifeArc
CognoMND™: A digital tool to identify changes in thinking and behaviour | MND Association
https://www.cognospeak.com/cognomnd
Let's Work Together Go Back