International Shopping List Mobile Test
Description: Memory problems are one of the most common issues for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and their families. Concerns about memory are also among the most bothersome symptoms. Importantly, memory decline is also one of the earliest signs of the disease, emerging long before the occurrence of dementia. Such assessments are an important, early component of diagnosis and identify a clinical sign of possible disease in a relatively inexpensive and non-invasive way, that can prompt further diagnostic tests to try and find a cause. In order to test for the presence of a memory impairment a face-to-face visit is usually required, involving a trained and experienced neuropsychologist able to administer a formal memory test. This approach has drawbacks in failing to reach individuals and groups in society who may be less willing to attend such a visit and commonly involving a single test, which is compared to scores in healthy individuals, as opposed to repeat tests to identify worsening memory, which may be more sensitive and also identify problems in people with different memory ability. The International Shopping List test is an established test of memory, which uses a real-world scenario of trying to remember a shopping or grocery list. The test has been designed to be easy to use in multiple different languages and cultures and to repeatedly administer over time to identify changes in memory. By adapting the test to be completed by people independently, in their own home or other setting on a smartphone (or tablet), it is expected that memory problems can be identified earlier and in more diverse populations. The ISLT app will be developed and validated as a sensitive assessment of memory, that can be applied repeatedly over time, easily accessible to wider groups in society; supporting better access to clinical trials, earlier diagnosis, and it is hoped eventual access to treatment.
Amount: $1,360,000
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: Diagnostics Accelerator
Start date: 2020-02-20
End date: 2026-12-31
Investigator: Pam Ventola
Institution: Cogstate Ltd
Funded outputs count: 0
Funder award ID: ADDF-21135832
OpenAlex ID: G9000608304