Multi-modal data analysis for early detection of alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Until recently, accurate early detection of clinical symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) has been difficult. Digital technologies have created new opportunities to capture cognitive and other AD/ADRD related behaviors with greater sensitivity and specificity. Speech captured through digital recordings has shown recent promise at feasible levels of scalability because of the widespread penetration of smartphones. One such study is described in detail to illustrate the depth in which artificial intelligence (AI) analytic approaches can be used to amplify the value of audio recordings. Another modality that has also attracted research interest are ocular scans that have near term potential for validation as a digital biomarker and a point of entry for clinical care workflows. Single modality measures, however, are rapidly giving way to multi-modality sensors that are embedded in all smartphones and other internet-of-things connected devices. Artificial intelligence (AI) driven analytic approaches are able to divine clinical signals from these high dimensional digital data streams. These data driven findings are setting the stage for a future state in which AD/ADRD detection will be possible at the earliest possible stage of the neurodegenerative process and enable interventions that would significantly attenuate or alter the trajectory, preventing disease from reaching the clinical diagnosis threshold.