Adaptable Pediatric Neurocognitive Assessment

PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACTMillions of children around the globe are afflicted with conditions that can alter neuropsychological developmentincluding human immunodeficiency virusHIVtraumatic brain injuryTBIcerebral malariaand a host of other developmental and acquired diseases and disordersEarly assessment and intervention are critical in overcoming cognitive and developmental deficiencies and are increasingly becoming a standard of care in western countriesHoweverin resource limited settingschildren often do not have access to these essential evaluations duein partto lack of trained personnel and culturally or linguistically appropriate assessment toolsCrearein collaboration with its clinical and research partnersproposes to develop a highly adaptable developmentally appropriatecomputer administered repeatable assessment battery for childrenThis battery covers the major domains of neurocognitive and neurobehavioral functionand is also sensitive to the sometimes subtle effects of diseaseThe test battery is administered on a tablet computer that is low costhighly mobileand provides a very intuitive user interface for test administrators and children taking the testIn addition to neurocognitive tasks that cover major cognitive domainsthe assessment battery includes a number of standardizedpsychometrically sound questionnaires for parents or caregivers that gather developmentally relevant functional behaviorsThe test battery is designed to be widely applicable for school aged children and includes tests of attentionexecutive functionprocessing speedlearningand memoryCreare has assembled a world class team to develop and commercialize this innovationOur system is made possible by algorithms and software that Creare has previously developed for smartphone and tablet based neurocognitive testing and hearing screening as well as trainingtherapydata sharingand assessmentWe have teamed with DrBetsy Kammerera developmental neuropsychologist at Boston Childrenandapos s Hospital experienced in assessment of children in the context of disease in international settingse gKenyaBotswanaPeruWe have also partnered with DrsPeter Isquith of Boston Childrenandapos s Hospital and Gerard Gioiaaffiliated with Childrenandapos s National Health Systemsdevelopmental neuropsychologists with expertise in assessmentBoth have extensive experience in developing and publishing measuresboth rating scale and computer administered teststhat are sensitive to a variety of conditions and have been translated and adapted for multiple languages and cultures PROJECT NARRATIVEEarly assessment is critical to developing interventions that minimize the impact of cognitive and developmental deficiencies for children suffering from a variety of conditions that affect neuropsychological functionThe proposed adaptabletablet based assessment batterywhich includes both rating scale and neurocognitive measureswill greatly increase access to essential pediatric assessment in all settingsincluding lower and middle income countries and underserved communities in resource rich countries