Development of computerized screening system for dementia and its preliminary field test

The population of aged persons is increasing along with an extension of the average span of human life. Therefore, the number of persons who suffer fr om dementing disorders is also increasing. Because the various psychotic sy mptoms and behavioral problems are frequently observed in persons with deme ntia, the families taking care of such people require help to reduce their mental and physical load. Therefore, maintenance and enhancement of the soc ial support system for aged persons are urgent issues. Early identification is important because immediate recognition of dementia people and appropri ate follow up treatment can prevent the progress of the disease. Clinical i nterviews are one general method for detecting patients with dementing diso rders, and the Hasegawa Dementia Scale is one of the most popular methods i n Japan. The test takes about 10 min per person, but it requires a lot of t ime and burden for medical staff to screen patients with dementia from the increasing number of aged persons. Therefore, new methods for assessing cog nitive functions are requested. A computerized assessment system was develo ped for dementia which is based on the Hasegawa Dementia Scale. This system was designed for aged persons with no previous computer experience to oper ate easily by making efficient use of multimedia. In this paper, the system and preliminary results of the held-test are reported. (C) 2000 Elsevier S cience Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.