DANA; A Tool to Detect Cognitive Changes in Pre-clinical and MCI Patients (Admin Supplement)

Project Summary/Abstract: The goals of this proposed project are to develop the DANA app into a tool that can be easily used remotely by COVID-19 patients after discharge from an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and to provide clinicians with meaningful data on the immediate and long term effects of COVID-19 on a patient's cognitive function. DANA will also help clinicians optimize neurocognitive rehabilitation. DANA is an FDA-cleared neurocognitive assessment tool that has been shown to be a valid and reliable method for screening cognitive functioning and tracking changes in cognitive functioning over time. Importantly, DANA can provide results virtually through a HIPAA-compliant portal, which will protect the clinician and others from exposure to the patient. The specific aims of the proposal are: (1) technical modifications and support of DANA for in-home self-administration and remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients, and (2) deploy and show efficacious use of DANA with recovering COVID-19 patients. These will build on the specific aims of the current Phase II SBIR, which includes the same longitudinal surveillance for participants either at-risk for Alzheimer's or diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).Three control populations, composed of (1) hospitalized COVID-19 patients who do not require ICU admission, (2) post-discharge ICU patients without COVID-19, and (3) healthy participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Center Registry. All participants will be given DANA immediately before leaving the hospital to determine a baseline, then they will administer the DANA tests to themselves while they convalesce in isolation.Technical changes specific to the needs of COVID-19 patients will be made to the DANA software in order to make DANA easier to use at home and provide optimal data to the clinician.