Digital medical evaluation and testing on a touch screen device

• US 9,883,831 B1
• Filed: 01/30/2014
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Health Biomedical Advancement Center, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Health Biomedical Advancement Center, Inc.
• Inventors: Stewart, Robert Malcolm, Skupien, Michael R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Stout, Michael C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kolderman, Nicholas E
• Application Number:
  US14/168,652
• Time in Patent Office: 1,468 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/162 Testing reaction times
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4088 Diagnosing of monitoring cognitive diseases, e.g. Alzheimer, prion diseases or dementia

Abstract

Cognitive tests are loaded onto myriad touch screen client computing devices. Patients are administered the tests using the touch screen devices, and their performance is captured and transmitted to cloud servers that store the patient information of all the touch screen devices in a database. In addition to cognitive test results, touch screen devices may also transmit patient medical information for storage in the database. Consequently, the database includes a large population of performance and medical data that can be evaluated to gain insights into cognitive disorders and create more effective digital tests for their diagnosis and treatment.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for administering one or more cognitive tests for evaluating a patient for a cognitive impairment, the method comprising:

displaying, at a touch screen computing device having a user interface, a first digital cognitive test for testing one or more cognitive functions of the patient, the first digital cognitive test being initially selected by at least one server, and based at least in part on an initial presumptive cognitive diagnosis associated with the patient, in which objects associated with the first digital cognitive test are initially modified before being displayed based on physical attributes of the patient, and physical limitations of the patient, and wherein data indicating the initial presumptive cognitive diagnosis of the patient, the physical attributes of the patient, and the physical limitations of the patient, is accessible by the at least one server through one or more networks;

receiving patient interactions with the first digital cognitive test on the touch screen computing device in response to the objects displayed with the first digital cognitive test;

capturing, on the touch screen computing device, the patient interactions as first performance results corresponding to performance of the patient of first tasks of the first digital cognitive test;

transmitting the first performance results to one or more database servers;

determining, at the at least one server, one or more cognitive impairments of the patient based on the first performance results of the patient, and on metrics associated with the first performance results;

mining, by the at least one database server, a stored second performance results of a previous patient;

determining, by the at least one server, a first diagnostic accuracy of the first digital cognitive test in response to a comparing by the at least one server of the mined stored second performance results with the first performance results corresponding to performance of the patient of first tasks on the first digital cognitive test;

wherein the determining further comprises;

counting a number of times a first digital cognitive test is administered to a plurality of patients;

comparing a plurality of results of the administration of the first digital cognitive test to the plurality of patients with at least one stored clinician diagnosis of a first cognitive impairment;

associating an efficacy value with the first digital cognitive test and the first cognitive impairment; and

storing the efficacy value by the database server in a database in association with the first digital cognitive test and the first cognitive impairment; and

selecting, through the at least one server, a further digital cognitive test for displaying to the patient by the touch screen computing device, in response to the at least one efficacy value associated with the first digital cognitive test and the first cognitive impairment falling below a threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting, through the at least one server, when the first performance results fall below a threshold, a next digital cognitive test for displaying to the patient by the touch screen computing device to confirm the one or more cognitive impairments determined by the at least one server by further testing the cognitive functions associated with the first digital cognitive test, the next digital cognitive test being based on the one or more cognitive impairments determined by the at least one server, and being initially modified before being presented based on the physical attributes of the patient and the physical limitations of the patient;

administering to the patient the next digital cognitive test on the touch screen computing device, wherein the next digital cognitive test is presented on the touch screen computing device as a battery of one or more cognitive tests being selected through the at least one server, and based on at least one of;

(a) the first performance results of the patient, and (b) performance results of other patients having one or more of;

(i) substantially a same presumptive cognitive diagnosis as the patient;

(ii) one or more substantially same physical attributes of the patient; and

(iii) one or more substantially same physical limitations of the patient;

receiving patient interactions with the next digital cognitive test on the touch screen computing device;

capturing by the touch screen computing device performance results for the next digital cognitive test corresponding to performance of the patient of next tasks of the next digital cognitive test;

storing the performance results of the next digital cognitive test on one or more of the touch screen computing device and the at least one server;

transmitting the performance results of the next digital cognitive test to the one or more database servers; and

based on the performance results of the next digital cognitive test, and on metrics associated with the performance results of the next digital cognitive test, when the performance results reach a threshold, selecting through the at least one server, at least one further digital cognitive test for displaying to the patient on the touch screen computing device, the at least one further digital cognitive test being a cognitive test useful to determine cognitive function of the patient.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first digital cognitive test comprises a language test presented in the user interface of the touch screen computing device, the language test comprising:

presenting a sequence of words each for a set time period;

waiting a delay period;

presenting the sequence of the words for the set time period or another time period; and

receiving text from the patient attempting to enter the sequence of the words.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first digital cognitive test comprises a finger tapping test operative to cause the touch screen computing device to measure a number of times the patient touches inside a displayed tap point during a specific timeframe.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first performance results comprise at least one member of a group comprising:

a count of a number of times the patient tapped inside a tap point during a specific timeframe;

a rhythm associated with touches of the patient; and

a spatial location of the touches of the patient in relation to the tap point.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first digital cognitive test comprises a trail test operative to cause the touch screen computing device to display a trail of points for the patient to trace from a beginning point to an ending point, and through intermediary points in a particular sequence according to indicators associated with the trail of points.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first digital cognitive test comprises a memory test operative to:

cause the touch screen computing device to display a sequence of images comprising previously shown images and distractors; and

instruct the patient to indicate which of the previously shown images were previously shown.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first digital cognitive test comprises an orientation test operative to cause the touch screen computing device to instruct the patient to select a current date and location from displayed date and location options displayed by the touch screen computing device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first digital cognitive test comprises an attention/flexibility test operative to cause the touch screen computing device to present a sequence of text of one letter, number, or word at a time along with a plurality of descriptors of the presented text, and store patient selections of options for the sequence of text.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first digital cognitive test comprises a selected attention response test operative to cause the touch screen computing device to present a target, one or more distractors, and a plurality of interactive descriptors for describing the target.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first digital cognitive test comprises a visual spatial test to cause the touch screen computing device to present a sequence of text, and determine how fast and accurately the patient can tap through the sequence of text.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first digital cognitive test comprises a memory test to cause the touch screen computing device to present a sequence of text, instruct the patient to enter the sequence of text in a forward or backward manner, receive input text from the patient, and determine whether the input text received from the patient comprises the sequence of text in the instructed forward or backward manner.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one server is configured to:

provide at least the first digital cognitive test to a plurality of touch screen computing devices;

receive from the plurality of touch screen computing devices performance results of patients to whom the at least the first digital cognitive test was presented;

receive from the plurality of touch screen computing devices patient medical records associated with the patients, the patients having one or more of;

(i) substantially a same presumptive cognitive diagnosis;

(ii) one or more substantially same physical attributes;

(iii) and one or more substantially same physical limitations; and

associate the performance results of the patients having at least a same presumptive cognitive diagnosis.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the patient medical records comprise electronic indications corresponding to at least one member of a group comprising:

wallet-type information;

patient medical history;

familial medical history;

medications;

genetics;

diagnoses;

lab results; and

patient imaging.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more database servers are in bidirectional communication with the at least one server, the one or more database servers configured to:

store the performance results associated with the patients to whom the at least the first digital cognitive test was presented;

store the patient medical records associated with the patients to whom the at least the first digital cognitive test was presented; and

transmit, upon request, one or more of;

(i) a sample of the performance results, and (ii) a sample of the patient medical records.

16. A computer-implemented method for administering one or more cognitive tests for evaluating a patient for a cognitive impairment, the method implemented by a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which, when executed by one or more servers having one or more processors, cause the at least one server to:

generate a first battery of one or more cognitive tests for testing one or more cognitive functions of the patient, the first battery of one or more cognitive tests being based at least in part on an initial presumptive cognitive diagnosis associated with the patient, in which objects associated with the first battery of one or more cognitive tests are initially modified based on physical attributes of the patient and physical limitations of the patient, and wherein data indicating the initial presumptive cognitive diagnosis of the patient, and the physical attributes of the patient, and the physical limitations of the patient, are accessible by the at least one server through one or more networks;

indicate to a client computing device having a user interface that the first battery of one or more cognitive tests is to be administered to the patient;

receive from the client computing device patient performance results associated with patient interactions with the user interface of the client computing device obtained during the first battery of one or more cognitive tests, the patient performance results obtained after administration of the first battery of one or more tests to the patient;

retrieve patient medical information about the patient, the patient medical information including the initial presumptive cognitive diagnosis of the patient, the physical attributes of the patient, and the physical limitations of the patient;

analyze the performance results to determine one or more cognitive impairments of the patient;

mine, by the at least one server, a stored second performance results of a previous patient;

determining, by the at least one server, a first diagnostic accuracy of the first battery of one or more cognitive tests in response to a comparing by the at least one server of the mined stored performance results with the performance results corresponding to performance of the patient on the first battery of one or more cognitive tests;

wherein the determining further comprises;

counting a number of times the first battery of one or more cognitive tests is administered to a plurality of patients;

comparing a plurality of results of the administration of the first digital cognitive test to the plurality of patients with at least one stored clinician diagnosis of a first cognitive impairment;

associating an efficacy value with the first battery of one or more cognitive tests and the first cognitive impairment; and

storing the efficacy value by the server in a database in association with the first battery of one or more cognitive tests and the first cognitive impairment; and

selecting, through the at least one server, a further battery of one or more cognitive tests for displaying to the patient by the touch screen computing device, in response to the at least one efficacy value associated with the first battery of one or more cognitive tests and the first cognitive impairment falling below a threshold; and

transmit an indication to administer the further battery of one or more tests to the client computing device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the patient medical information comprises at least one member of a group comprising:

wallet-type information;

patient medical history;

familial medical history;

medications;

genetics;

diagnoses;

lab results;

patient imaging; and

traumatic event details.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first battery and the second battery of one or more cognitive tests comprise at least one member of a group comprising:

a finger tapping test;

a trail test;

an attention/flexibility test;

a selective attention response test;

a language test;

a visual spatial test; and

a memory test.

19. A system for administering one or more cognitive tests for evaluating a patient for a cognitive impairment, the system comprising:

a touch screen computing device having a user interface configured to display a first digital cognitive test for testing one or more cognitive functions of the patient;

a processor configured to select the first digital cognitive test and, based at least in part on an initial presumptive cognitive diagnosis associated with the patient, to modify objects associated with the first digital cognitive test before being displayed on the touch screen computing device, the modification being based on physical attributes of the patient, and physical limitations of the patient, and wherein data indicating the initial presumptive cognitive diagnosis of the patient, the physical attributes of the patient, and the physical limitations of the patient, is accessible by the processor,

wherein the touch screen computing device is further configured to;

receive patient interactions with the first digital cognitive test in response to the objects displayed with the first digital cognitive test;

capture the patient interactions as first performance results corresponding to performance of the patient of first tasks of the first digital cognitive test; and

transmit the first performance results to one or more servers,

wherein the server is further configured to;

mine, by the at least one server, a stored second performance results of a previous patient;

determine, by the at least one server, a first diagnostic accuracy of the first digital cognitive test in response to a comparing by the at least one server of the mined stored second performance results with the first performance results corresponding to performance of the patient of first tasks on the first digital cognitive test;

wherein the determining further comprises;

counting a number of times a first digital cognitive test is administered to a plurality of patients;

comparing a plurality of results of the administration of the first digital cognitive test to the plurality of patients with at least one stored clinician diagnosis of a first cognitive impairment;

associating an efficacy value with the first digital cognitive test and the first cognitive impairment; and

storing the efficacy value by the at least one server in a database in association with the first digital cognitive test and the first cognitive impairment; and

select, through the at least one server, a further digital cognitive test for displaying to the patient by the touch screen computing device, in response to the at least one efficacy value associated with the first digital cognitive test and the first cognitive impairment falling below a threshold;

analyze performance results of the patient performing the further digital cognitive test;

determine one or more cognitive impairments of the patient in response to the performance results of the patient performing the further digital cognitive test; and

select, when the performance results of the patient performing the further digital cognitive test fall below a threshold, a next digital cognitive test for displaying to the patient by the touch screen computing device to confirm the one or more cognitive impairments determined by the server by further testing the cognitive functions associated with the further digital cognitive test, the next digital cognitive test being based on the one or more cognitive impairments determined by the server, and being initially modified before being presented, the modification based on the physical attributes of the patient and the physical limitations of the patient.