Serial Number: DOI: 10.1186/s13195-021-00821-8
Title: Use of the Clock Drawing Test and the Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure Test-copy with convolutional neural networks to predict cognitive impairment
Author: Young Chul Youn, Jung-Min Pyun, Nayoung Ryu, Min Jae Baek, Jae-Won Jang, Young Ho Park, Suk-Won Ahn, Hae-Won Shin, Kwang-Yeol Park, Sang Yun Kim
Journal: Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy
Vol: 13(1)
Pages: 1-12
Date: 2021.
Register Information: SCI/A&HCI
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<Abstract>
Background
The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) are widely used as a part of neuropsychological test batteries to assess cognitive function. Our objective was to confirm the prediction accuracies of the RCFT-copy and CDT for cognitive impairment (CI) using convolutional neural network algorithms as a screening tool.
Methods
The CDT and RCFT-copy data were obtained from patients aged 60–80 years who had more than 6 years of education. In total, 747 CDT and 980 RCFT-copy figures were utilized. Convolutional neural network algorithms using TensorFlow (ver. 2.3.0) on the Colab cloud platform (http://www.colab.research.google.com) were used for preprocessing and modeling. We measured the prediction accuracy of each drawing test 10 times using this dataset with the following classes: normal cognition (NC) vs. mildly impaired cognition (MI), NC vs. severely impaired cognition (SI), and NC vs. CI (MI + SI).
Results
The accuracy of the CDT was better for differentiating MI (CDT, 78.04 ± 2.75; RCFT-copy, not being trained) and SI from NC (CDT, 91.45 ± 0.83; RCFT-copy, 90.27 ± 1.52); however, the RCFT-copy was better at predicting CI (CDT, 77.37 ± 1.77; RCFT, 83.52 ± 1.41). The accuracy for a 3-way classification (NC vs. MI vs. SI) was approximately 71% for both tests; no significant difference was found between them.
Conclusions
The two drawing tests showed good performance for predicting severe impairment of cognition; however, a drawing test alone is not enough to predict overall CI. There are some limitations to our study: the sample size was small, all the participants did not perform both the CDT and RCFT-copy, and only the copy condition of the RCFT was used. Algorithms involving memory performance and longitudinal changes are worth future exploration. These results may contribute to improved home-based healthcare delivery.
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