1,000th study on Join Dementia Research - Visual Paired Comparison as a dementia screening tool

Join Dementia Research volunteers are being invited to take part in the service’s 1,000th study,  testing a new way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease earlier. 

Dementia affects more than 944,000 people in the UK. Through Join Dementia Research, research offers hope that people can understand what causes dementia, develop effective treatments and improve the care of those living with the disease. 

Visual Paired Comparison is 1 of 105 studies currently recruiting to Join Dementia Research. Using a simple eye-tracking task to see if the tracking identifies abnormalities in recognition memory, the procedure takes between 90 and 120 minutes.

The study opened on 21 July and will close on 31 December 2027. It is testing 3 groups: 

• 30 people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease

• 30 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) 

• 30 healthy people of 65 and over

Kirsty Woodward, PhD researcher, University of Nottingham, praised Join Dementia Research for supporting recruitment.

“Join Dementia Research has been fantastic for this,” she said. “It has been incredibly useful in helping us successfully recruit participants across all these groups. 

“Having a streamlined way to connect with willing volunteers has saved us so much time and made reaching these specific patient groups much easier.”

Participants will view a series of images of everyday objects and scenes on a computer screen. An eye tracker then monitors where they are looking, using infrared technology. 

The researcher will also ask participants to complete some other computer-based games to test cognitive function. They are also asked questions about their memory, reading skill, concentration and education history and how easy they found the eye-tracking task. 

The procedure will take place in the University of Nottingham or a memory clinic at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust. Participants can also take part from their own home. 

There will be ample opportunity to take breaks during the session. No knowledge of computers is required and participants will be compensated if they take part.

Kirsty added: “The aim of this study is to improve the accuracy of early diagnosis. Participants will be supporting the important research of Alzheimer’, a growing illness and a major social challenge.

“Because the main task just involves watching images, it has the potential to be incredibly accessible to many patients, including non-native English speakers.”

Join Dementia Research has 102,507 people registered, while 127,049 participants have joined a study. Could you join them? Sign up to Join Dementia Research today to get started.