University of West Bohemia launches Alzheimer's early warning app

Cyberneticists from the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen have introduced DigiDiaDem, a web application designed to detect early signs of Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. The tool is available online and requires only a computer or tablet equipped with a microphone and speakers.

During testing involving over 4,000 participants, the application recommended that 15 percent of users seek medical consultation. The screening process takes approximately 10 to 12 minutes and consists of ten short tasks focusing on auditory and visual perception, memory, speech, and the ability to describe images. Users provide verbal responses, which the system analyzes using specialized Czech language speech recognition technology.

Luboš Šmídl from the Department of Cybernetics emphasized that the application is not intended as a definitive clinical diagnosis, but rather as a reliable early warning system. The resulting report can be printed to serve as a basis for subsequent consultations with a general practitioner.