In consideration of the language utilized. - Rapid dementia risk assessment available through new test.
Future risk of dementia can be determined through abnormalities in our speech patterns, according to recent findings presented at the 32nd European Congress of Psychiatry. A group of researchers from the University of Szeged in Hungary, led by Dr. János Kálmán, has developed an automated method for analyzing language to identify these temporal peculiarities.
The Speech Gap Test, created by Kálmán and his team, focuses on uncovering temporal aspects in speech instead of phonetics and semantics. This is crucial because it avoids the complexity of these areas and makes the evaluation more reliable. The test only needs a 60-second speech sample to provide results.
In comparison to other speech analysis programs, the Speech Gap Test is more efficient, as it can process the necessary information in a shorter time frame. Kálmán believes that this technique could detect dementia and Alzheimer's disease with higher accuracy than other methods.
Kálmán explained that they explored various language parameters, such as the pace of speech and the length and frequency of pauses. The test aims to identify early signs of dementia, but it's not intended for official diagnosis purposes and doesn't have plans to be registered as a medical product.
As part of their ongoing research, the team surveyed GPs to understand their current practices. They discovered that general practitioners often lack time to administer cognitive tests during regular check-ups. The Speech Gap Test could serve as a useful tool, allowing GPs to quickly identify potential cognitive issues in their patients. Successful trials for the test have already been conducted in Hungarian, English, and German, and further development is underway to make it accessible to GPs. The exact timeline for this availability is yet to be determined.
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Source: symclub.org
