Technology is changing how physicians think about assessing patients and, in turn, how patients expect to be able to measure their own health. Apps designed for smartphones and wearable devices can provide unique insights into a user’s brain health.

A study in Nature Medicine found widely used consumer-grade digital devices, such as the iPhone and Apple Watch, can be effective in assessing an individual’s cognitive health without requiring in-person visits or supervision. This is the largest cognition study of its kind to demonstrate that self-administered cognitive assessments can be leveraged to accurately assess cognitive health over time.

“In the long term, we may be able to track digital health metrics and identify those reflecting cognitive changes that are on a trajectory of decline and warrant follow-up with a medical professional to determine if an early intervention treatment plan is needed to either slow or prevent progression,” says coauthor Rhoda Au, PhD, professor of anatomy & neurobiology.

The study enrolled more than 23,000 adults from across the US who used an iPhone. Broad enrollment included individuals who consented to sharing their data and were 21–86 years of age. Both cognitively healthy individuals as well as those who were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment participated.

Of the participants enrolled, over 90% were able to adhere to the study protocol for at least one year, which included using an iPhone and wearing an Apple Watch on a daily basis, as well as taking cognitive assessments on their own and completing questionnaires at monthly and quarterly intervals.

The ability to accurately measure cognitive health remotely could be the first step in providing individuals with the information they need to actively improve their brain health. ●