PhD Defence Daphne Berdine Gertrude ter Huurne

Keywords: Neuropsychological assessment, speech, memory clinic, automatic 
 

"Neuropsychological assessment and automatic speech analysis in the memory clinic"

This thesis focused on improving how we assess memory and thinking problems, particularly in early cognitive decline and dementia. It investigated the use of common tests, like the Verbal Fluency and Verbal Learning tests, in Dutch memory clinics. These tests were shown to detect (early) cognitive decline effectively, and new methods using Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) were explored. ASR technology allowed for automatic scoring of tests, showing high accuracy compared to manual scoring and enabling remote assessments via phone. This makes it easier for people to undergo testing without visiting a clinic. This thesis also studied how participants experienced different assessment methods, finding that face-to-face and phone-based assessments were rated quite high. Overall, the research highlights how automatic speech analysis and phone-based assessment can enhance (early) diagnosis and accessibility for individuals with memory problems, a start for paving the way for screening tools for research and clinical care. 

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