Medefer and Head Diagnostics are developing a new service that will combine a digital cognitive test with remote, consultant-led specialist care, giving people concerned about their memory a clearer, earlier route to assessment.
This initiative was supported by a grant from Eisai Ltd. Eisai had no influence or involvement other than the financial support.
Medefer, a CQC-registered, consultant-led healthcare provider, and Head Diagnostics, an innovator in digital brain health and cognitive assessment, are developing a new dementia assessment service for people who are worried about changes in their memory. It will combine a comprehensive digital cognitive test battery with consultant-led specialist care to support earlier diagnosis, and is supported by grant funding from Eisai.
Many people who notice changes in their memory want a clear answer sooner, and people under 65 can find assessment harder to access. The service will apply Medefer’s established experience in remote-first, technology-supported care, delivered to more than 170,000 patients, to dementia assessment for the first time.
It will be self-funded and can be accessed directly, without a referral, and Medefer and Head Diagnostics are developing it as a new model that they aim to widen over time.
Medefer will lead the service as the clinical partner, overseeing the clinical pathway and its delivery. It is being designed in two parts.
The first is a memory assessment built around the Head Diagnostics HDx Cognition platform, which includes a digital cognitive battery clinically validated against established paper-based assessments, available at the cognition clinics or, with support, at home, with consultant oversight and advice on whether further assessment is right for the person. People will then have the option, through a remote, consultant-led service, to go on to a formal diagnosis of dementia, with blood tests, an MRI brain scan and a test for Alzheimer’s disease where relevant. The service covers assessment and diagnosis only.
We have spent years building remote, consultant-led services that reach people wherever they are. Bringing that to dementia means someone worried about their memory can get expert assessment and advice far sooner, and a clear answer they can act on. That early clarity is what changes things for people and their families.
Dr Edward Bosonnet, Primary Care Director, Medefer Ltd
The first cognition clinics are being established, and Medefer and Head Diagnostics will build on the initial learnings to expand the service.
Medefer will also integrate dementia coordinator support, giving people and their families wider support to understand a diagnosis and access practical help, advice and local services.
Head Diagnostics is a medtech innovator focused on brain health and cognitive assessment, headquartered at NovaUCD, Belfield Innovation Park, Dublin. Its HDx Cognition platform is a clinically validated, cloud-based digital neuropsychological assessment used to support the detection and assessment of neurological conditions including mild cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
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Cepta Duffy, Head of Lifescience and Healthtech, Enterprise Ireland https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/news/new-service-aims-to-give-people-worried-about-their-memory-an-earlier-route-to-dementia-assessment Pictured at Head Diagnostics’ headquarters at NovaUCD in Dublin is David van Zuydam, Chief Executive Officer, Head Diagnostics.
