“ Previous research has shown that people with Alzheimer ’ s disease struggle with the more demanding tasks ”
“ We need a large number of participants for us to be able to make conclusions ”
“ Previous research has shown that people with Alzheimer ’ s disease struggle with the more demanding tasks ”
“ We need a large number of participants for us to be able to make conclusions ”
The development of a new eye test for the early diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia in ethnic minority groups
Alzheimer ’ s Disease is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that affects all cultures and countries . However , there are few reliable diagnostic tools that are affordable for the majority of people in developing countries . A collaborative research project between Dr Trevor Crawford and his team from Lancaster University and a number of NHS organisations ( including Dr Yashwant P Shukla from Devitre House Memory clinic in Lancaster ) are conducting a cross-cultural study to evaluate a new eye test that may provide an early marker of cognitive ( i . e . memory ) impairment in ethnic minority populations . Recently , Dr Crawford and Alex Devereux , from Lancaster University assessed a number of volunteers from the Hindu community as part of a wider research programme . We hope to collect data for a research project looking into how Alzheimer ’ s disease affects cognitive ability and eye movement behaviour in comparison with the normal aging process . We use an eyetracker alongside experimental tasks presented on a computer screen to examine variables such as reaction time and ability to correctly complete tasks . Previous research has shown that people with Alzheimer ’ s disease struggle with the more demanding tasks . Also we use an experiment that is designed to assess eye movements whilst people are watching videos , in order to attempt to move towards a more naturalistic setting .
The research programme requires healthy adults as well as people who have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer ’ s disease . We compare the eye movements of people with memory deficits to those of healthy adults . For scientific data collection , we need a large number of participants for us to be able to make conclusions . The tests take approximately one hour , but it may be possible to conduct the test in 2 shorter sessions . Dr Thomas Wilcockson has been collecting data from patients visiting a variety of NHS Memory Clinics , including Bolton and Stoke . We are always looking to visit new sites and gain more participants for the research . The study is now on the NIHR research portfolio ( http :// news . joindementiaresearch . nihr . ac . uk / can-dementia-diagnosed-eye-movement /).
This research is funded by The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ( EPSRC ) and Sir John Fisher Foundation .
To enquire further about the research or if you are interested in taking part then you can email Champa Mistry ( eyetracking . champa @ gmail . com , m : 0741 757 1317 ) or Alex Devereaux ( a . devereaux @ lancaster . ac . uk ). vol . 41 | Prajapati Sandesh 2016 65