EU-funded project Alzheimer’s Detect & Prevent (ADDP) concludes successfully The three-and-a-half-year Alzheimer’s Detect & Prevent project (ADDP), funded with EUR 3.5 million by the EU, commenced in November 2018, with the objective to develop and validate digital solutions for early detection and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. In other words, to create ways to identify people early, before Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has progressed far and manifested with symptoms, to allow for prompt prevention efforts. The project consisted of a consortium of partners including Brain+ A/S, University of Oxford, University of Nottingham, University of Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, the European Brain Council and Alzheimer Europe. Read more at https://www.addp.eu
Kim Baden-Kristensen, CEO & Co-founder of Brain+ said: "The ‘Alzheimer’s Detect & Prevent’ project has been our biggest and most ambitious innovation project to date and has resulted in very valuable additions to our technology and science base that our future products will be based on. Working with top academics, clinicians and patient organisations in this field is both an honour and a pleasure, and we are happy to already be continuing these partnerships in new projects." The project developed and tested two digital technologies:
• The Starry Night cognitive test, and
• Computerized Cognitive Training games.
Two clinical trials have been conducted by the University of Oxford (press release) and the University of Nottingham (press release), and a third is being finalised by the University of Aarhus, to test these technologies. The concluded trials showed promising feasibility of both technologies.
For further information, contact CEO and co-founder of Brain+, Kim Baden-Kristensen, tel: (+45) 31393318, email: kim@brain-plus.com
More information about the Brain+ technologies developed in the ADDP project, as published by Brain+
Technology: Starry Night cognitive test for early presymptomatic detection of AD
Development of the Starry Night technology: The Starry Night test is designed as a game, which builds on the thoroughly researched lab-test developed in Masud Husain’s lab at Oxford University that has shown the ability to distinguish the early cognitive symptoms of AD in multiple studies. The original Oxford lab-test was further co-developed and gamified with Brain+ in the project to enhance engagement, increase specificity, and allow for scalability. The Starry Night test is designed to run on smartphones and tablets so that people can use it from home, thus allowing scalable and remote testing.
Starry Night in trials: Three clinical trials and one Public and Patient Engagement (PPI) study have been carried out in the project to validate the gamified working memory task - Starry Night. The first study was done by Oxford University and sought to replicate the original lab test results in healthy older people. This study met with positive results in February 2022 (press release). One additional study with individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) was planned at Oxford University but it was deemed to be not feasible due to Covid-related restrictions throughout the project. Instead, valuable demographic data was collected.
At the University of Nottingham, two studies were carried out. The first was a clinical study involving 86 people with Subjective Cognitive Impairments and here the Starry Night test was successfully used for measuring working memory. The second was a qualitative study in the form of Public and Patient Engagement (PPI) that was conducted to inform the opinion of those living with dementia on Computerised Cognitive Training and cognitive screening tools for early detection. This piece of work has been published (https://games.jmir.org/2022/2/e32489/). Finally, one more study run by Aarhus University, with people at genetic risk of developing AD, is in the final phases with results imminent and the news is expected in the first quarter of 2023. Next clinical development step for Starry Night: As part of the natural continuation of this project and collaboration, Brain+ is now planning a large-scale trial to gather normative data on Starry Night. This will provide a population performance baseline, against which to compare individuals at risk of developing AD, and how outcomes develop over time for more effective future disease detection and treatment.
The Starry Night product use case: Brain+ intends to integrate the Starry Night test in its planned product for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) as a sensitive assessment and monitoring tool for changes in cognition for the users. In the longer term, the cognitive test has the potential to become a so-called ‘digital biomarker’ used in the early detection of AD, likely in combination with other biomarkers such as blood samples.
Technology: Computerised Cognitive Training (1st generation) for reduction of mental work load
Development of the CCT technology: A second work stream in the project aimed to reduce the likelihood of developing AD in healthy older adults who are at risk of AD, via Computerized Cognitive Training (CCT). This technology was developed based on original work done by Brain+ aiming to alleviate cognitive issues in people with traumatic brain injury. In this project, Brain+ further developed its CCT technology prototypes into the 1st Generation of Brain+ Computerized Cognitive Training (CCT) games. CCT in trials: The computerized cognitive training was tested in the empirical study done by University of Nottingham involving the 86 people with Subjective Cognitive Impairments also mentioned above for Starry Night. Results from the study were announced on 11 January 2023 (press release). Participants demonstrated reduced cognitive load on a demanding working task (Starry Night) after use of Brain+’ Computerised Cognitive Training (CCT) games. Some far-transfer effects of the CCT training were also seen on the participants’ performance in a shopping task.
Next clinical development for CCT: The learnings from the 1st Generation CCT games in this project forms the basis of the 2nd Generation CCT games that very specifically targets the cognitive domains relevant for AD. The 2nd Generation CCT games utilises behavioural interventions that have proven effective in people with AD, both in the stages of dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment. The 2nd Generation CCT games are being developed and tested in the ongoing €1.5 million ‘ACTTDCS’ innovation project lead by Brain and funded by Eurostars scheme and the Innovation Fund Denmark. The CCT product use case: The 2nd Generation CCT games will be a central ingredient in the Brain+ product planned for MCI. The MCI targeting product is the third in Brain+’s pipeline, planned to combine CCT and the Starry Night cognitive test as an integrated monitoring tool with the Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) technology.