东北大学团队开发居家认知测试应用，初步结果积极

把认知测试搬回家

认知评估传统上要在诊室用纸笔完成，患者往往只做几分钟的简短测试就被告知“没问题”。东北大学大脑游戏中心开发了一款面向智能手机和平板的认知测试应用，试图让更长的测试在患者家中完成。其近期发布的9月报告与Kaiser Permanente华盛顿健康研究所长期开展的Adult Changes in Thought队列研究合作，向加州南部英语成年参与者寄送装有该应用的Microsoft Surface平板、耳机和操作说明，通过两次相隔两个月的Zoom会话，由研究管理员带领完成语言流畅性、记忆与执行功能等任务。

纸笔与平板并行比较

参与者同时以纸笔和平板完成同一批任务，以便比较两种方式下结果是否变化。在连线测验中，参与者需按顺序连接散落的数字；另一项任务要求用平板触控笔画出时钟。研究者称，参与者报告两种版本都易于使用，这一结果被认为令人安心。数字工具还带来纸笔难以捕捉的细节，例如画图时手是否颤抖，从而获得更丰富的信号。

希望与尚未完成的部分

研究者Seitz认为，远程测试可让医生把时间留给更深入的评估，患者也可能避免诊室中较高的计费。不过这些属于对远程认知测试用途的期待，而非本研究已验证的效果。当前报告的样本为南加州英语成年参与者，下一步是邀请更大规模人群继续测试该应用；应用在更广泛人群中的表现仍待检验。

These Northeastern researchers are helping move cognitive tests from the clinic to the home.

Northeastern University researchers developed an app to test brain functions designed for use on smartphones and tablets that’s receiving positive results.

Quentin Coppola's h ands holding a tablet, using the stylus in one to draw lines between numbered circles on the screen. — Quentin Coppola a doctoral psychology researcher at Northeastern University, work on a brain cognitive test for at home use Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

by Cesareo Contreras October 21, 2026

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The task seems simple on its face: connect a series of numbered dots scattered on a piece of paper in sequential order.

It’s the first set of directions participants are asked to complete as part of the Trail Making test, a neuro-psychological assessment designed to measure a person’s brain functions, including cognitive flexibility, their capacity to plan and make decisions on the fly, and processing speed.

Other parts of the test can be a little more tricky.

Northeastern researchers had participants perform this test among others using a tablet app they created.

The goal of the tests was to determine whether researchers could collect the same level of reliable data from the participants from their home using computer tablets as they would if they were tested in person in a medical center.

Related: What does a healthy brain look like? Turns out it’s all relative.

These tests are traditionally done in-person at a doctor’s office or medical center using pen and paper. But medical professionals are exploring ways to offer the tests virtually so patients can complete them at home, according to Northeastern University psychology experts.

According to Mordor Intelligence, a market research firm that tracks technology trends, remote and online assessment technologies are the fastest growing segment of the global cognitive testing market. That segment is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 10.4% through 2031, the market firm reported.

Quentin Coppola wearing a virtual reality headset and holding a hand controller which is blurred in the foreground. — 10/15/26 – BOSTON, MA. – Quentin Coppola a 4th year psychology researcher, work on a brain cognitive test for at home use in Hurtig Hall on Oct. 15, 2026. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Quentin Coppola looking at a tablet while seated next to a participant wearing a virtual reality headset in an office. — 10/15/26 – BOSTON, MA. – Quentin Coppola a 4th year psychology researcher, work on a brain cognitive test for at home use in Hurtig Hall on Oct. 15, 2026. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Northeastern University’s Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Well-Being developed its own cognitive testing mobile app designed for smartphones and tablets.

The center recently released a September report in which it had a group of people use the app from their homes. The report was done in collaboration with the Adult Changes in Thought Study, a long-running cohort study spearheaded by the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute that studies brain aging in adults.

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Northeastern researchers develop cognitive testing app for at home use

When asked to complete the Trail Making Test, on both paper and tablet, the participants reported that they found both versions of the tests easily accessible, according to the researchers.

These findings are reassuring, Seitz said. The hope with virtual testing is that medical professionals will have more time to work on more extensive testing with individual patients than if the patients were in a doctor’s office.

“Most of the time when you go to the doctor, you’re given a five minute cognition test and you’re sent home and told you’re fine,” he said. “With telehealth, what you can do is take a longer test at home that will give you a deeper dive and hopefully help you understand your cognition better.”

Seitz said that time can be limited in a doctor’s office and patients are often billed at a higher rate than they would be if they were tested at home.

For the study, the researchers sent English-speaking adults in Southern California a Microsoft Surface tablet loaded with the app, a pair of headphones and detailed instructions on how to use the setup.

Participants were tested during two different Zoom sessions, spread two months apart to ensure researchers were able to get consistent results, said Quentin Coppola, a doctoral student of psychology working at Brain Game Center.

The sessions were led by a research administrator who went over a battery of tasks designed to assess a participant’s language fluency, memory and executive functioning.

Participants completed the tasks with both pen and paper and on the mobile device, so that researchers could compare how results may change depending on how participants conducted the test.

In another task similar to the Trail Making test participants were instructed to draw a clock using the tablet’s stylus.

The test is a standard used to assess cognition, and researchers said they were able to collect richer data from the digital tools when compared to pen and paper.

“Now we’re getting these micro interactions — are they trembling while they’re drawing? — richer signals than we were getting from paper and pencil tasks,” Coppola said.

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While the results of the research were promising, the next step is to invite a larger group of people to test the app for future studies.

“What we want to do is get this technology in the hands of people who will use it,” Coppola said, — “whether that’s researchers, clinicians or patients.”

Cesareo Contreras is a Northeastern Global News reporter. Email him at c.contreras@northeastern.edu. Follow him on X/Twitter @cesareo_r and Threads @cesareor.