Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report they have developed and validated a tablet-based app that offers a faster, easier and more accurate way for health care providers who don’t have specialized training to assess the cognitive function of people with multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis is the most common form of disability in young adults other than traumatic injury. Diagnosis usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 50, and it is estimated that 1 million people in the United States are living with the disease. MS is most common among women—three women are diagnosed for every one man.
In a study comparing the app, called iCAMS, to a standard, paper-based assessment tool, researchers say they found that the app produced highly accurate results while reducing test time from about 23 to 14 minutes. Study results are described in the July 2019 online issue of the International Journal of MS Care.
Meghan Beier, Ph.D., M.A., assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and lead author of the study report, says that “results suggest that using the iCAMS app may make cognitive assessments of multiple sclerosis more convenient in a clinic setting, and therefore will be used more often to identify learning and memory problems.”
In the tablet-based app, researchers incorporated the BICAMS version of processing and visual learning tests, but for copyright reasons they used a comparable alternative subtest to assess verbal learning ability. iCAMS uses automatic prompts and written instructions to help medical assistants or other staff members guide patients through instructions to complete the assessment.
Ongoing efforts include the research team’s plans for larger-scale testing of the app in more diverse patient populations, and altering the app to make it more user-friendly.
