In a real-world clinical trial, published in JAMA Network Open, researchers demonstrate that a fully digital AI zero-cost method for detecting dementia can be scaled across primary care clinics without additional time for physicians.

For the trial of more than 5,000 patients from primary care practices, researchers from Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University School of Medicine, Eskenazi Health, University of Miami School of Medicine and Lamar University tested a dual approach combining the Quick Dementia Rating System (QDRS)—a 10-question patient-reported tool—and an artificial intelligence (AI) tool, called a passive digital marker.

The method of combining these tools increased the rate of new Alzheimer’s and related dementias diagnoses by 31% compared with usual care, all without requiring additional clinician time or costly testing.