Early detection of risk for cognitive decline using mobile apps and eye tracking-based biomarkers

Early detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease, is essential for timely interventions. However, traditional cognitive assessments are often inaccessible and unsuitable for continuous monitoring. This study presents a mobile, gaze-based assessment system using eye-tracking as a digital biomarker for cognitive decline. Fourteen older adults with MCI used gamified apps over four months, including an emotionally weighted object-tracking task (PAIRS; Paletta et al., 2020a), an antisaccade task (Mobile Instrumental Recovery of Attention; MIRA; Paletta et al., 2020b), and the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT; Dinges & Powell, 1985). Eye movement features such as blink rate and reaction time significantly correlated with scores of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA; Nasreddine et al., 2005) scores. A Support Vector Regression model estimated cognitive scores supporting the potential of mobile eye-tracking for home-based cognitive monitoring and early dementia risk detection.