the most common companies I encounter are those building digital dementia screening tools. These are a class of brain health assessments to see whether a person might have, or be at risk of developing, cognitive impairments that could be signs of neurodegenerative disease.. How best to treat them remains an open question, one that hinges on a more immediate question: Who are we treating?
Early detection can change a person’s life. Yet underreporting and stigma persist. Training and resources to adopt new tools aren’t always available. Some startups emphasize quickness and affordability of use. Others emphasize objectivity through integrated biometrics. Virtually all incorporate AI for scoring analysis and standard reporting features for clinical teams. No two tools are the same, but many are targeting the same problem.
Digital dementia screening tools are an early step in a process that might also include a routine physical exam, aforementioned questionnaires, and “historian” interviews, before escalating to pathological tests to pin down a definitive diagnosis . What’s more: Beyond being able to stratify and reliably diagnose patients, the economics of what happens next are another quagmire. The handoff between outpatient clinicians and clinical trials recruitment requires additional confirmation testing, which varies by each combination of clinical research organization, pharma sponsor, and insurer.
built by a research arm is not endorsed for official clinical use by either the regulatory or the payment arm - and turn instead to Europe.