CognoSpeak is a virtual clinician that can measure cognitive function through responses to questions using automatic speech recognition and classification involving machine learning. Dr Dan Blackburn, Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the University of Sheffield has been awarded £1.47M from the NIHR’s i4i to undertake further development and testing of CognoSpeak.

What we are doing

Part of this programme of work will explore the potential for implementation of the technology in primary care. Dr Jon Dickson is leading this work along with colleagues at Primary Care Sheffield.

In the first few months of the project we have opened ten carefully selected primary care sites in Sheffield to reflect the socioeconomic and ethnic diversity of the city.

The first site was opened on 25/11/22, and we’re expecting to recruit our first patient in February or March 2023. This will help test CognoSpeak’s diagnostic capabilities, consider the primary care memory assessment and diagnostic pathway, and linked with other work to explore variability in referrals between GP practices and the determinants of this variability. It is also helping grow capacity for primary care research in Sheffield, allowing GPs the opportunity to take part in research.