Introduction
Neurocognitive assessment is important for monitoring and diagnosing cognitive and neurological disorders. Traditional in-person evaluations, however, have drawbacks like time restraints, expensive expenses, and restricted accessibility, especially for people living in distant places. By facilitating remote neurocognitive examinations, emerging remote digital platforms present a viable way to overcome these obstacles. These platforms offer improved convenience, accessibility, and the possibility of better patient outcomes. By examining recent research projects and addressing their implications, this literature review seeks to determine if remote digital platforms can be used for neurocognitive assessment. The importance of this subject rests in its potential to transform neurocognitive assessment and improve healthcare for people, especially those in underserved areas. Remote digital platforms can provide a practical and approachable way to carry out neuropsychological examinations by bridging the gap between patients and professional healthcare providers. Remote platforms can reach people who might otherwise face considerable barriers to receiving fast and accurate assessments by removing the need for patients to travel large distances and lowering the associated costs. This review will investigate the efficacy and dependability of remote digital platforms in neurocognitive evaluation by analyzing existing research findings. It will also look at potential research avenues, like validating remote evaluations among various populations and incorporating cutting-edge technology to improve assessment accuracy. This review seeks to increase biological research and enhance healthcare outcomes for people with neurological and cognitive illnesses by examining the viability of remote digital platforms in neurocognitive assessment.
Background Information and Significance
Neurocognitive assessment is crucial for evaluating cognitive abilities like memory, attention, language, and executive processes. These evaluations are essential for identifying and tracking alterations brought on by different neurological illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke. These assessments have historically taken place in clinical settings, necessitating patient travel and extensive discussions with qualified specialists.
However, these conventional assessments provide major difficulties, especially concerning access to specialized care. It can be challenging for people who live in rural or isolated places to have the necessary neuropsychological examinations because of barriers like low transportation alternatives, geographic isolation, and financial limitations. Due to the large discrepancy in healthcare availability, people in these impoverished areas often experience delayed diagnosis, poor treatment, and a loss in quality of life. The development of remote digital platforms presents a potentially viable answer to the problems with conventional neuropsychological examinations. These platforms enable remote evaluation using web-based technologies, mobile applications, and communication tools. Remote platforms use the benefits of digital connectivity to do away with the need for patients to travel large distances, lessening travel’s financial and logistical load.
Remote digital platforms are important for neuropsychological assessment because they can make specialized care more accessible, especially for people who live in rural or remote places. Through these platforms, people can receive neurocognitive evaluations while remaining in the comfort of their own homes, circumventing distance restrictions and lessening the financial burden of travel fees. With early detection and action made possible by this improved accessibility, patient outcomes and the management of neurological illnesses may improve. Remote digital platforms also give patients and healthcare professionals convenience and flexibility. To make the most use of time and resources, patients can schedule examinations at their convenience, and medical professionals can remotely perform and monitor assessments. This may result in earlier diagnoses, more customized treatment regimens, and better patient involvement in their care. This research intends to illuminate the potential of remote digital platforms to close the accessibility gap and transform the healthcare industry by investigating the viability of such platforms in neuropsychological evaluation. Implementing remote digital platforms can revolutionize the way neuropsychological evaluations are carried out and guarantee that everyone, regardless of location, has fair access to essential healthcare services.
Current Research on Remote Digital Platforms for Neurocognitive Assessment
Recent studies on remote digital platforms for cognition testing have shed light on their viability and efficiency. These studies demonstrate the potential for remote platforms to circumvent physical constraints, enhance accessibility to specialized treatment, and deliver precise assessments of cognitive performance. The findings add to the expanding body of research that shows how effective remote digital platforms are for neurocognitive evaluation.
Zeghari et al. (2022) conducted a feasibility study to evaluate the cognitive capacities of older adults in rural places utilizing an internet-based platform. The study aimed to ascertain whether remote evaluations successfully identify cognitive deficits. The study’s findings suggest the possibility for increased accessibility and early recognition of cognitive impairments among older adults living in distant areas. Distant tests using the internet-based platform were successful in diagnosing cognitive decline. The advantages of remote evaluations in removing geographic restrictions and increasing access to specialized treatment are highlighted in this study. Franco-Rocha et al. (2023) also used a web-based neuropsychological exam to evaluate cognitive deficits in people with hematologic malignancies. The study aimed to contrast the outcomes of typical in-person exams with those obtained using remote means. The results showed equivalent results between the two approaches, indicating that remote platforms can act as trustworthy substitutes for in-person evaluations. The study emphasizes the capability of distant digital platforms to deliver precise and reliable indicators of cognitive functioning, particularly when in-person assessments may be difficult or impracticable.
Notably, a study by Lajoie et al. (2021) examined the viability of remote neurocognitive assessment in a clinical trial comprising participants with Parkinson’s disease and obstructive sleep apnea. The goal was to convert routine in-person evaluations to a remote format and analyze the viability of remote platforms in clinical research environments. The study established the viability of remote evaluations, showing that they may be successfully used to assess cognitive functioning and track disease development. The results back up using remote platforms to remotely manage large-scale clinical trials, reduce logistical issues, and raise participant participation. Berron et al. (2022) examined the feasibility of digital memory assessments in an unsupervised and remote study setting. The study aimed to evaluate the acceptability and precision of remote assessments. The results showed high acceptability and accuracy, pointing to the possibility of widespread adoption of remote digital platforms for memory tests. The study focused on the usability and practicality of remote platforms, enabling people to take part in evaluations from their homes. These findings show how remote platforms can change neurocognitive assessment by enabling quick and easy examination of cognitive abilities.
Hman et al. (2021) discussed recent developments in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease-specific digital cognitive testing. To establish the sensitivity and specificity of remote cognitive tests for the early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease, the study emphasized the need for more research. The results underlined how distant digital platforms could be very useful in the early detection and treatment of cognitive loss brought on by Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, Zeghari et al.’s pilot study from 2021 examined if a mobile unit could be used for remote cognitive assessment of isolated older adults in rural locations, emphasizing the potential of remote platforms to reach underserved populations. The application of remote evaluations in this demographic was examined by Tsiakiri et al. (2022) in their study on remote neuropsychological evaluation of older persons. Vaccaro et al. (2023) emphasized the viability and advantages of remote testing in a counterbalanced cross-over study on direct-to-home neuropsychology with older persons. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Parsons et al. (2022) investigated the viability and acceptance of direct-to-home tele-neuropsychology services, highlighting their potential in situations where access to in-person care is constrained. Requena-Komuro et al., in 2022, carried out comparison research comparing remote versus in-person neuropsychological testing in people with Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and healthy older people. For patients with stable grade II and III gliomas, Gehring et al. (2018) examined the viability of a home-based exercise regimen with remote supervision, highlighting the potential for remote assistance in rehabilitation. To demonstrate the reliability of remote assessments, Wadsworth et al. (2018) evaluated the validity of tele neuropsychological testing in elderly individuals with cognitive impairments.
Together, these findings add to the growing body of research demonstrating remote digital platforms’ viability and efficiency in neuropsychological testing. They draw attention to how these platforms may be used to overcome geographical limitations, increase accessibility to specialized care, and offer precise assessments of cognitive performance. The study shows that remote evaluations can be trustworthy substitutes for conventional in-person exams, providing convenience and reducing logistical difficulties. The findings also highlight how crucial it is to conduct more studies to optimize technology infrastructure, validate remote assessments across various populations, and address ethical issues.
For medical practitioners, researchers, and policymakers, using remote digital platforms for neurocognitive testing has important ramifications. Rural platforms can increase access to specialist treatment for people in rural or underserved places by removing geographic boundaries. This is especially crucial for senior people who might find it difficult to travel large distances for in-person exams. In addition to convenience and flexibility, remote assessments reduce the burden of travel and the risk of exposure to infectious diseases, as was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals can complete evaluations from the comfort of their homes. Additionally, remote evaluations may improve cognitive impairment early identification and remediation. Rural platforms can help with the timely identification of cognitive decline, enabling early interventions and better outcomes by reaching people in rural places where access to specialized care may be limited. Another key benefit of these systems is their capacity to evaluate the efficacy of therapies and adjust treatment strategies by allowing healthcare providers to monitor illness progression and cognitive changes over time remotely.
Some issues and restrictions need to be addressed, even if the studies examined indicate the viability and efficiency of remote digital platforms in neuropsychological evaluation. The widespread use of these platforms may need to be improved by technological restrictions like internet connectivity and device compatibility. In implementing remote assessments, it’s crucial to take ethical considerations, data security and privacy, and other pertinent issues into consideration. More research is required to confirm the efficacy of remote platforms across a range of demographics and cognitive domains and create guidelines and standards for their usage in clinical practice.
Future Research Directions
Future research may focus on creating tele-neuropsychological therapies and remote cognitive training programs. These interventions could be administered remotely and customized to target particular cognitive domains or neurological diseases, offering people individualized cognitive rehabilitation and support (Tsiakiri et al., 2022).
Examining the long-term effects and cost-effectiveness of remote digital platforms for neurocognitive testing is another crucial area for future research. The usefulness of these platforms in clinical practice will be better understood by evaluating the effect of remote assessments on patient outcomes, healthcare utilization, and healthcare expenditures (Berron et al., 2022). Additionally, research into their acceptability and user experience is essential for the widespread adoption and implementation of remote assessments. The creation of user-friendly and efficient evaluation tools will be influenced by an understanding of the viewpoints of patients, carers, and healthcare professionals regarding the usability, satisfaction, and perceived benefits of remote digital platforms (Zeghari et al., 2022; Parsons et al., 2022).
Additionally, it is crucial to continuously review and update the technological infrastructure underlying distant digital platforms, given the speed at which technology advances. This entails ensuring internet connectivity is dependable and safe, maximizing software and hardware compatibility, and investigating cutting-edge technologies like virtual reality or wearable gadgets for remote assessments (Requena-Komuro et al., 2022). Future studies should also examine any ethical and legal issues arising from remote assessments. The creation and use of these platforms should consider patient privacy protection, informed consent, and resolving equality and access concerns in distant evaluations. Finally, it’s worth looking at increasing the use of remote digital platforms beyond neuropsychological assessment to include all-encompassing remote care models. A comprehensive and patient-centered approach to healthcare delivery can be achieved by including telemedicine services, remote monitoring, and digital health interventions in the assessment process.
Future studies on remote digital platforms for neurocognitive assessment should concentrate on validating their efficacy across a range of populations and neurological conditions, investigating their reliability and validity in comparison to in-person assessments, developing standardized protocols and tools, integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, evaluating long-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness, assessing user acceptability and experience, and updating the These directions for research will further the use of technology for improving accessibility, accuracy, and patient outcomes in mental healthcare, as well as the field of remote neurocognitive assessment.
Conclusion
The potential for remote digital platforms in neurocognitive assessment to revolutionize mental healthcare provision is substantial. Recent studies have shown remote assessments’ viability and dependability, emphasizing their advantages in terms of accessibility, practicality, and accuracy. The use of mobile devices and web-based platforms has produced encouraging results in detecting cognitive deficits and facilitating remote evaluations in a variety of populations, including the elderly and patients with certain medical problems. More study is required to establish the efficacy of remote assessments across various demographics and neurological conditions. Future efforts should concentrate on providing fair access to care, overcoming technological issues, and standardizing remote evaluation techniques. The effectiveness and precision of remote neurocognitive assessments may be further improved by incorporating cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning. The viability of remote digital platforms for neuropsychological assessment offers a significant chance to increase access to specialized care, especially for people living in rural locations. These platforms can improve patient outcomes and revolutionize the field of biomedical research by increasing access to neurocognitive evaluations and facilitating the early diagnosis of cognitive disorders. The development of standardized protocols, enhanced user interfaces, and, ultimately, the broad adoption of remote digital platforms for neurocognitive assessment will be aided by ongoing research and technological developments in remote assessment. These improvements will encourage equal access to cognitive healthcare, enhance patient outcomes, and spur other advancements.
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