Possibility of screening for mild cognitive impairment via an eye tracking-based cognitive scale

IntroductionThe Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is widely used as a screening test for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the MoCA takes approximately 15 min to administer and evaluate by skilled examiners, such as medical professionals. This study assessed whether an eye tracking-based...

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Main Authors: Naoki Kodama, Sou Takahashi, Masazumi Tsuji, Yuji Kawase, Satoshi Naruse, Katsuya Urakami
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Aging
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fragi.2025.1532550/full
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author Naoki Kodama
Sou Takahashi
Masazumi Tsuji
Yuji Kawase
Satoshi Naruse
Katsuya Urakami
author_facet Naoki Kodama
Sou Takahashi
Masazumi Tsuji
Yuji Kawase
Satoshi Naruse
Katsuya Urakami
author_sort Naoki Kodama
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThe Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is widely used as a screening test for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the MoCA takes approximately 15 min to administer and evaluate by skilled examiners, such as medical professionals. This study assessed whether an eye tracking-based cognitive scale using virtual reality (VR) was accurate and efficient to screen for MCI.MethodsThis study included 143 patients. The Virtual Reality-Based Cognitive Function Examination (VR-E) was used with all participants to evaluate their memory, judgment, spatial cognition, calculation, and language function.ResultsSignificant differences were observed in all cognitive domains of memory, judgment, spatial cognition, calculation, and language function between the Alzheimer’s disease (AD), MCI, and older healthy control (HC) groups. The area under the curve value of the VR-E score for the HC and MCI groups was 0.857, and that for the AD and MCI groups was 0.870. The correlation coefficient between the MMSE and VR-E scores was 0.566 (p < 0.001), and that between the Japanese version of the MoCA (MoCA-J) and VR-E scores was 0.648 (p < 0.001), which indicated a moderate correlation in both comparisons.ConclusionThe VR-E had the same diagnostic performance results as the MoCA-J, thus the VR-E has potential for use in screening patients for MCI.
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spelling doaj-art-4f89efc2d3754a22b0ae2a0e1e36b5e32025-08-20T03:26:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging2673-62172025-06-01610.3389/fragi.2025.15325501532550Possibility of screening for mild cognitive impairment via an eye tracking-based cognitive scaleNaoki Kodama0Sou Takahashi1Masazumi Tsuji2Yuji Kawase3Satoshi Naruse4Katsuya Urakami5Department of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanDepartment of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, JapanTsuji Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and Dentistry Clinic, Tokyo, JapanKawase Neurology Clinic, Sanjo, JapanMidori Hospital, Niigata, JapanDepartment of Dementia Prevention, School of Health Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, JapanIntroductionThe Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is widely used as a screening test for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the MoCA takes approximately 15 min to administer and evaluate by skilled examiners, such as medical professionals. This study assessed whether an eye tracking-based cognitive scale using virtual reality (VR) was accurate and efficient to screen for MCI.MethodsThis study included 143 patients. The Virtual Reality-Based Cognitive Function Examination (VR-E) was used with all participants to evaluate their memory, judgment, spatial cognition, calculation, and language function.ResultsSignificant differences were observed in all cognitive domains of memory, judgment, spatial cognition, calculation, and language function between the Alzheimer’s disease (AD), MCI, and older healthy control (HC) groups. The area under the curve value of the VR-E score for the HC and MCI groups was 0.857, and that for the AD and MCI groups was 0.870. The correlation coefficient between the MMSE and VR-E scores was 0.566 (p < 0.001), and that between the Japanese version of the MoCA (MoCA-J) and VR-E scores was 0.648 (p < 0.001), which indicated a moderate correlation in both comparisons.ConclusionThe VR-E had the same diagnostic performance results as the MoCA-J, thus the VR-E has potential for use in screening patients for MCI.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fragi.2025.1532550/fullmild cognitive impairmentscreeningeye tracking-based cognitive scaleAlzheimer’s diseasevirtual reality
spellingShingle Naoki Kodama
Sou Takahashi
Masazumi Tsuji
Yuji Kawase
Satoshi Naruse
Katsuya Urakami
Possibility of screening for mild cognitive impairment via an eye tracking-based cognitive scale
Frontiers in Aging
mild cognitive impairment
screening
eye tracking-based cognitive scale
Alzheimer’s disease
virtual reality
title Possibility of screening for mild cognitive impairment via an eye tracking-based cognitive scale
title_full Possibility of screening for mild cognitive impairment via an eye tracking-based cognitive scale
title_fullStr Possibility of screening for mild cognitive impairment via an eye tracking-based cognitive scale
title_full_unstemmed Possibility of screening for mild cognitive impairment via an eye tracking-based cognitive scale
title_short Possibility of screening for mild cognitive impairment via an eye tracking-based cognitive scale
title_sort possibility of screening for mild cognitive impairment via an eye tracking based cognitive scale
topic mild cognitive impairment
screening
eye tracking-based cognitive scale
Alzheimer’s disease
virtual reality
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fragi.2025.1532550/full
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