CcHAT
About the project
A CognoSpeak Health Assessment Tool
Every 3 minutes, someone in the UK develops dementia; it is the leading cause of death, and care costs around £26.3 billion a year. Referrals for assessment have increased six-fold leading to long, frustrating and anxious waiting times for families, delaying access to treatment and support. This is important because lifestyle changes and treatment can delay progression if a diagnosis is made early, reducing health and social care costs. Over-stretched clinics are unable to monitor people with mild cognitive impairment, despite their 50% risk of developing dementia and some ethnic groups are not accessing diagnosis services. The CognoSpeak™ system has been tested on over 220 people and shown to be reliable and more accurate than pen-and paper tests used currently. It can also detect signs of depression and anxiety.