|
|
Mobile phones are great devices for cognitive testing. They are highly portable, relatively inexpensive, and many people already own suitable phones and are familiar with using them. They can be used to carry out field studies, for example of the effects of alcohol. Such studies (aka "everyday life" or " naturalistic studies") have advantages over lab studies, which are artificial in using fixed doses and a setting very different from a normal drinking environment. But naturalistic studies are also less controlled than a lab setting. We have compared everyday life and lab assessments of alcohol effects in the same volunteers, and found that impairments can be clearly shown in both settings . Results from the study have been presented at three recent meetings, the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research in Toronto in May 2008, the British Association for Psychopharmacology in Harrogate in July 2008, and the British Psychological Society meeting at Low Wood, Windermere, in September 2008 |
 |
| Brian Tiplady gave a presentation on Visual Analogue Scales at the recent meting of the British Association for Psychopharmacology in Harrogate (July 2008). These scales are quick and easy to use, and can be set up both on paper and in electronic form, for example on a mobile phone or handheld PDA. Studies have been carried out to show that scales set up on mobile phones are equivalent to the traditional paper scales. Results showing equivalence were presented at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research in Toronto in May 2008. |
|
|
Brian Tiplady gave a presentation at the Drug Information Association Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts (June 2008) entitled "Validation in an Unsupervised Setting. This covered validation issues associated with the use of electronic patient diaries, in particular those set up on handheld PDAs. Such electronic devices provide time-stamping of entries, as well as compliance aids such as reminders and time-windows. Thus compliance can be improved and documented in ways that are not possible for paper. Issues such as data integrity and security were also discussed. |
|
|
"Monitoring Behaviour in Everyday Life" was the title of a presentation given by Brian Tiplady at the DIA Euromeeting in Madrid in October 2007. "Free-range" assessment - measurements made in the course of a person's daily life, with a minimum of intrusion - was contrasted to "Battery" assessments in a dedicated laboratory. Several recent studies were discussed, and data showing the validity of everyday life assessment presented. Assessments can be carried out on a person's own phone, making this type of approach very cost-effective, as well as enabling types of research that would otherwise not be possible. |
|
|
Brian Tiplady gave a presentation on the Roadside Impairment Testing project at the Road Safety Scotland Seminar at the Hilton Coylumbridge in Aviemore on 26th October 2006. The presentation covered the development of the project, which aims to provide tests of impairment due to drugs and alcohol that can be administered by police to drivers at the roadside. The evaluation study recently completed in Edinburgh was discussed, though no results from this are yet available. Watch this space for further information. |
|
|
If you live in or near Edinburgh and are interested in being a volunteer in an alcohol study, visit www.alcoholresearch.org. This site gives details of studies that are currently recruiting, and has contact information for getting in touch with researchers. Picture courtesy of funkytshirt.com |
|
|
We're all used to the idea of the breathalyser, but many drugs besides alcohol can impair driving - both legal drugs (such as antihistamines and sleeping pills) and illegal ones. These are much harder to measure than alcohol, so the UK police are developing methods of detecting impairment using cognitive tests on a small portable device. Brian Tiplady and a team in Edinburgh University have conducted a study to evaluate the sensitivity of this type of test to alcohol. An Edinburgh Evening News reporter has written of her experience as a volunteer in this study. There have also been reports on the project in the Telegraph and New Scientist. The study results are currently being prepared for publication. A recent paper, with Andria Degia from the University of Surrey and Philip Dixon from the Police Scientific Development Branch, presents the very promising results from an earlier validation study. |
|
|
This is one of the simplest reaction time tests. If the arrow points left, press a left button, if it points right, press a right button. We've been using this test to follow sedation when patients receive an intravenous anaesthetic, and to check whether the effect on brain function follows the blood levels. Setting up the test on a mobile phone allowed us to test performance in a routine hospital setting, where bulky equipment would just get in the way. Reaction time testers don't get much smaller than this, but patients can use them without difficulty. Results of the study were recently presented by Alastair Thomson at the Society for Intravenous Anaesthesia here in Edinburgh. |
|
This pencil and paper test is designed to assess psychomotor speed and accuracy. It is being developed to make use of the Anoto® digital pen/paper system, but the initial test version for conventional (manually scored) pen and paper is very useful in its own right, as it is easy to generate multiple versions of equivalent difficulty. You can download the manually scored version for free, or find out more about the development of the digital version. |
