A New Motor and Cognitive Dual-Task Approach Based on Foot Tapping for The Identification of Mild Cognitive Impairment.

This study investigates the adoption of innovative Motor and Cognitive Dual-Task (MCDT) based on the combination of increasing motor and cognitive tasks to discern between subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Cognitively Normal Adults (CNA). We aim to adopt new MCDT protocols and to compare their performance against the gold standard (a walking based MCDT, called GAIT). 27 older adults have been assessed through a customized wearable system during 4 MCDTs. We developed as many pooled indices (PIs), based on MCDTs perfomance, demographic data, and clinical scores. We use these parameters as regressors in 4 different logistic regression models. The regression models that encompassed features from innovative MCDT overcame the gold standard classification performance. In particular, models based on the heel tapping and the alternate heel-toe tapping reach the best outputs, namely +8% of accuracy if compared to the gold standard (a walking task). The use of logistic regression models based on MCDT PI have been effective in discerning between CNA vs MCI. Our results suggest that the gold standard MCDT may represents a too demanding exercise to highlight differences between CNA and MCI. It seems that MCDT based on an intermediate level of motor difficulty could represent the sweet spot for the identification of MCI against CNA. Clinical relevance- The combination of innovative digital devices and innovative approach on data analysis (PIs) opened a new scenarios to the early detection and prediction of dementia. Their use would standardize the assessment procedure, lightening the physician from the burden of cumbersome testing sessions. This study suggests that a broader framework for MCDT, which should encompass an ampler selection of motor tasks with different possibilities in terms of difficulties levels, could provide clinicians with a new appropriate set of tools for the early detection of dementia.