The Remote Digital Assessment and Monitoring for Early Alzheimer’s Disease (REMOTE-AD) project aims to develop use recommendations for remote digital assessments in the early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease as well as a framework that will outline clear standards for the selection and implementation of remote digital assessments across healthcare contexts-of-use. This framework will address the practical, social, and ethical implications of the implementations of these assessments. By establishing clear standards for remote digital assessments, the project hopes to facilitate their widespread adoption in healthcare and improve outcomes for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The REMOTE-AD expert working group was formed in response to a EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) call on the “Use of Digital Technologies in Neurodegenerative Disease Research And Clinical Practice”.
Mission
The early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a significant global healthcare challenge. Remote digital assessments have the potential to address this challenge by enabling the detection of AD at its earliest stages and tracking its progression. However, to ensure the effective deployment of these assessments in clinical practice, it is essential to establish clear frameworks for their evaluation and implementation.
The REMOTE-AD project aims to address this need by bringing together an international and multidisciplinary expert group to develop a framework for the use of remote digital assessments in AD. This framework will consider the social and ethical implications of these assessments for patients and their caregivers, ensuring that they are safe, effective, and respectful of patients‘ needs.
The project’s outcomes will be disseminated through a white paper, a peer-reviewed publication, and a public webinar for patients and the interested public. By establishing clear standards for the use of remote digital assessments, we hope to facilitate their widespread adoption in healthcare and improve outcomes for patients with AD.
Partners
Subgroups
Subgroup 1 | Clinical use cases
Determination of the unmet needs in clinical practice related to Alzheimer’s disease that can be addressed with remote digital assessments. (Subgroup leads: Sietske Sikkes and Emrah Düzel)
Subgroup 2 | Framework for the evaluation of appropriate tools
Delivery of a framework for the identification and external appraisal of the most appropriate measures and measurement technologies for each identified use case.
(Subgroup leads: David Berron, Alexandra König and Dennis Chan)
Subgroup 3 | Ethical and social challenges
Discussion of social and ethical considerations relating to the deployment of remote digital assessments including the involvement of patients, carers, and stakeholders, inclusivity and scalability, communication, consent, and data ethics.
(Subgroup leads: Silke Schicktanz and René Thyrian)
Subgroup 4 | Implementation
Recommendations for implementation in healthcare contexts for the respective use cases considering issues such as validation, harmonization, integration into the patient journey, and regulatory pathways.
(Subgroup leads: Coco Newton, Kathryn Papp and John Clarkson)
