Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, usability and convergent validity of a digital neuropsychological assessment battery designed to detect cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Background: Cognitive impairment in PD is strongly associated with reduced functionality and quality of life. Diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia (PDD) currently relies on in-person neuropsychological assessments. These evaluations are time-consuming, resource-intensive and primarily available in tertiary centers, creating barriers to access, delayed diagnosis and under-monitoring. Digital cognitive assessment tools could facilitate scalable and remote screening; however, few validated instruments are available and none have been developed specifically for PD.

Method: 45 people with PD (PwPD) completed both a comprehensive paper and pencil neuropsychological assessment and a digital assessment using COGAPP. Among PwPD, 5 had PDD, 20 PD-MCI, and 20 Normal Cognition (PD-NC). Feasibility was assessed through test failure rates, usability using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and convergent validity via Spearman correlations between standard tests and their COGAPP counterparts.

Results: Overall feasibility was good, with no participants failing to complete the assessment. For individual tests, 23% of PD-MCI and 60% of PDD participants failed to complete the TMT-B. SUS scores showed an overall good usability (M= 70, SD = 16,73). T-tests showed significant better perceived usability in PD-NC compared to PD-MCI (t = 2,18; p<0.05). Significant correlations were found between the paper and pencil version and the COGAPP version of several tests: TMT-A and B (p<0.001), SDMT (p<0.001), Stroop Test (time and errors p<0.005), Benton JLO (p<0.05), RAVLT (immediate recall p<0.05; delayed recall p<0.005), FACE test (p<0.005) and SET (p<0.005).

Conclusion: These preliminary findings provide initial support for the feasibility, usability and validity of a PD-specific digital neuropsychological battery for remote cognitive screening and monitoring. The ability of participants with PDD to complete the assessment further supports applicability in more severe cognitive impairment. In addition, digital assessment enables the collection of measures such as reaction time and response latency, which may improve characterization of cognitive deficits and help identify markers predictive of disease progression in PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/digital-assessment-of-cognitive-function-in-parkinsons-disease-preliminary-feasibility-and-validity-data/