Necessity of technicians for computerized neuropsychological assessment devices in multiple sclerosis

Curtis M Wojcik; Stephen M Rao; Adrian J Schembri; Allison S Drake; Paul Maruff; David Schindler; Jay Alberts; Faizan Yasin; Jeta Pol; Bianca Weinstock-Guttman; Ralph Hb Benedict

doi:10.1177/1352458518813287

Necessity of technicians for computerized neuropsychological assessment devices in multiple sclerosis

Mult Scler. 2020 Jan;26(1):109-113. doi: 10.1177/1352458518813287. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
² Schey Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA.
³ Cogstate Limited, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁴ Cogstate Limited, Melbourne, VIC, Australia/ The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
⁵ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA/Qr8 Health, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA.

PMID: 30465463
DOI: 10.1177/1352458518813287

Abstract

Objective: Determine the influence of technician supervision on computer-administered cognitive tests in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: Eighty MS patients underwent assessment using the CogState Brief Battery (CSBB) and the Cleveland Clinic Cognitive Battery (C3B). Each was administered twice, once with a technician guiding assessment, and once with technician-absent. Twenty-eight healthy controls were also evaluated.

Results: The influence of technician guidance was not statistically significant for group means on either test. For CSBB, administration problems were more common in the technician-absent condition.

Conclusion: In this MS sample, reliable and valid test results were obtained from computer-assisted cognitive testing without technician guidance.

Keywords: Multiple sclerosis; cognition; computerized tests; neuropsychological tests; psychometric validity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Cognitive Dysfunction / diagnosis*
Cognitive Dysfunction / etiology
Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / standards*
Female
Health Personnel / standards*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Multiple Sclerosis / complications
Multiple Sclerosis / diagnosis*
Neuropsychological Tests / standards*
Reproducibility of Results