Neuropsychological examination of elderly subjects with dementia and mentally healthy elderly using a touch panel of a personal computer

Abstract

The method of evaluating cognitive function for early diagnosis of elderly patients with dementia needs to be simple and entertaining. ln this study, we designed a new testing system (Computer Based Test; CBT) that could evaluate attention span and memory function using the touch panel tmp ofa personal computer. The activity starts with the numbers from 1 to 36 appearing on the display randomly. The subjects should touch the numbers on the display in order. We carried out the CBT on one group with dementia and one group mentally healthy elderly. Most of the subjects performed the task quickly. However, some subjects were not able to finish the CBT, possibly because of severe cognitive impairment. The difficulty in completing the CBT might be related to the presence of severe dementia. The performing percentage on the CBT directly correlates to scores on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The perform time of elderly subjects with no dementia was significantly shorter than those with dementia. CBT could be effective for testing cognitive impairment in the elderly. It should be necessary to examine the CBT with other neuropsychological examinations and the brain imaging studies.