The Spatial Performance Assessment for Cognitive Evaluation (SPACE): A Novel Game for the Early Detection of Cognitive Impairment

Dementia is a leading cause of dependency and death among older adults and an economic burden to healthcare. In the fast-paced non-gaming environment of healthcare, the detection of dementia is limited to invasive and expensive procedures (e.g., PET) or less sensitive paper and pencil tests. Typically, dementia is preceded by Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) which is characterised by the loss of cognitive function including deficits in spatial ability. Spatial ability may be a sensitive marker for discriminating between healthy individuals and MCI patients. Virtual Reality now allows for spatial tests to be easily and safely deployed in clinics or at home. We introduce the Spatial Performance Assessment for Cognitive Evaluation (SPACE) as a transgressive, transformative gamified battery of spatial tests for tablets. SPACE is designed to identify differences in spatial ability to support clinicians in the early detection of dementia and offers a flexible ecosystem for immediate and longitudinal assessments.