Processor implemented systems and methods for measuring cognitive abilities

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a computer processing system, a first plurality of responses by an individual to a first task, the first task comprising a first stimuli evoking the first plurality of responses from the individual over a period of time;

receiving, by the computer processing system, a second plurality of responses by the individual to a second task, the second task comprising a second stimuli evoking the second plurality of responses from the individual over the period of time, wherein the second stimuli are presented simultaneously with at least some of the first stimuli, the first stimuli and the second stimuli being configured to provide a predictive measure of one or more cognitive functions associated with one or more specific diseases or disease states;

determining, by the computer processing system, that the first task and the second task are performed by the individual based on the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses;

computing, by the computer processing system, a cognitive measure using a combination of one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses and external information, wherein computing the cognitive measure comprises:

(i) determining performance measures using one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses, the performance measures being associated with the one or more cognitive functions associated with the one or more specific diseases or disease states,

(ii) comparing the performance measures to the external information, the external information comprising

performance measures of individuals with known cognitive conditions associated with the one or more specific diseases or disease states, and

(iii) applying a computer data model comprising at least one machine learning technique to the performance measures and the external information,

wherein the at least one machine learning technique is configured to analyze one or more patterns between the performance measures of the individual and the performance measures of the individuals with the known cognitive conditions to compute a predictive measure for the one or more specific diseases or disease states; and

outputting, by the computer processing system, a cognitive assessment based on the cognitive measure, the cognitive assessment comprising a diagnosis of the one or more specific diseases or an assessment of the one or more specific disease states,

wherein one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses (i) comprise at least one of motion by the individual or physiological input from the individual, and (ii) are detected using one or more sensors, the sensors being selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a physiological sensor.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the performance measures are selected from the group consisting of reaction time of responses and correctness of responses.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

modifying, during the period of time, a difficulty level of the first task or the second task based on the performance measures.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the difficulty level is selected from the group consisting of: allowable reaction time window for reacting to stimuli, navigation speed, number of obstacles, size of obstacles, frequency of turns in a navigation path, and turning radiuses of turns in a navigation path.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 ,

wherein the difficulty level is modified in real-time during the period of time; and

wherein the cognitive measure is computed using the difficulty level modifications made during the period of time.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , further comprising:

determining a threshold of the difficulty level at which the performance measures satisfy one or more predetermined criteria;

wherein the cognitive measure is computed using the determined threshold of the difficulty level.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

modifying, during the period of time, a first difficulty level of the first task based on performance measures of one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses; and

modifying, during the period of time, a second difficulty level of the second task based on performance measures of one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses;

wherein the first difficulty level and the second difficulty level are modified in real-time during the period of time; and

wherein the cognitive measure is computed using one or both of the first difficulty level modifications and the second difficulty level modifications.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein computing the cognitive measure includes applying a signal detection technique selected from the group consisting of: sensitivity index, receiver operating characteristics (ROC), and bias.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the cognitive measure is a composite measure computed using performance measures of the first plurality of responses to the first task and performance measures of the second plurality of responses to the second task.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the cognitive measure is a composite measure computed using at least two types of performance measures of one of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the cognitive measure is a composite measure computed using the external information and the performance measures of one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:

the first task is a visuomotor task, the first stimuli include a navigation path, and the first plurality of responses include continuous inputs by the individual;

the second task is a reaction task, the second stimuli comprise target stimuli that require responses from the individual and distractor stimuli that require no response from the individual, and the second plurality of responses include inputs by the individual reacting to at least one interference; and

the cognitive measure is a composite measure computed using the external information and the performance measures of both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 , wherein computing the cognitive measure further comprises applying a signal detection technique selected from a sensitivity index and bias.

14. A computer-implemented method for monitoring cognitive deficits of an individual, said method being implemented using a computing device having a display component, an input device, and a sensor, and comprising:

presenting, by the display component, a visuomotor task to the individual over a period of time, the visuomotor task comprising a navigation path evoking navigation responses from the individual;

presenting, by the display component, a reaction task to the individual over the period of time, the reaction task comprising a target stimuli evoking reaction responses from the individual and distractor stimuli that require no response from the individual, wherein the target stimuli and the distractor stimuli are presented simultaneously with at least some of the navigation path;

receiving, through the sensor, the navigation responses of the individual, wherein the sensor is selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a physiological sensor;

receiving, through the input device, the reaction responses of the individual, wherein the input device is selected from the group consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a camera, a video game controller, a touch screen, a virtual keyboard, and a physiological input device;

determining, by the computing device, that the visuomotor task is being performed by the individual based on the navigation responses;

computing, by the computing device, a cognitive measure using a combination of the reaction responses and external information, wherein computing the cognitive measure comprises

(i) determining performance measures using one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses, the performance measures being correlated with a presence and a severity of a predetermined cognitive deficit,

(ii) comparing one or both of the navigation responses and the reaction responses with at least one set of prior navigation responses and/or reaction responses from the individual,

(iii) comparing the performance measures to the external information, the external information comprising

performance measures of individuals with known cognitive conditions associated with the presence and the severity of the predetermined cognitive deficit, and

(iv) applying a computer data model comprising at least one machine learning technique to the performance measures and the external information, wherein the at least one machine learning technique is configured to analyze one or more patterns between the performance measures of the individual and the performance measures of the individuals with the known cognitive conditions to compute a predictive measure for the presence and the severity of the predetermined cognitive deficit; and

outputting, by the computing device, a cognitive assessment based on the cognitive measure, the cognitive assessment comprising a measure of progression of the predetermined cognitive deficit in the individual over a specified period of time.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14 , wherein:

the cognitive measure is a composite measure computed using the external information and the performance measures of the navigation responses of the individual to the visuomotor task and the reaction responses of the individual to the reaction task; and

computing the cognitive measure further comprises applying a signal detection technique selected from a sensitivity index and bias.

16. A computer-implemented system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory comprising instructions which when executed cause the one or more processors to execute steps comprising:

receiving a first plurality of responses by an individual to a first task, the first task comprising a first stimuli evoking the first plurality of responses from the individual over a period of time;

receiving a second plurality of responses by the individual to a second task, the second task comprising a second stimuli evoking the second plurality of responses from the individual over the period of time, wherein

the second stimuli are presented simultaneously with at least some of the first stimuli,

the first stimuli and the second stimuli are configured to provide a predictive measure of one or more cognitive functions associated with one or more specific diseases or disease states, and

one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses (i) comprise at least one of motion by the individual or physiological input from the individual, and (ii) are detected using one or more sensors, the one or more sensors being selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a physiological sensor;

determining that the first task and the second task are performed by the individual based on the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses;

computing a cognitive measure comprising a combination of performance measures and external information, wherein computing the cognitive measure comprises:

(i) determining the performance measures using one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses,

(ii) comparing the performance measures to the external information, the external information comprising

performance measures of individuals with known cognitive conditions associated with the one or more specific diseases or disease states,

(iii) applying a computer data model comprising at least one machine learning technique comprising a neural network or classification algorithm to the performance measures and the external information, wherein the computer data model is trained based on the performance measures of the individuals with known cognitive conditions,

wherein the at least one machine learning technique is configured to analyze one or more patterns between the performance measures of the individual and the performance measures of the individuals with the known cognitive conditions to compute a predictive measure for the one or more specific diseases or disease states; and

outputting a cognitive assessment based on the cognitive measure, the cognitive assessment comprising a diagnosis of the one or more specific diseases or an assessment of the one or more specific disease states in the individual.

17. The computer-implemented system of claim 16 , wherein the memory comprises instructions for causing the one or more processors to execute further steps comprising:

modifying, during the period of time, a difficulty level of the first task or the second task based on the performance measures.

18. The computer-implemented system of claim 17 , wherein the difficulty level of the first task or the second task is selected from the group consisting of: allowable reaction time window for reacting to stimuli, navigation speed, number of obstacles, size of obstacles, frequency of turns in a navigation path, and turning radiuses of turns in a navigation path.

19. The computer-implemented system of claim 17 ,

wherein the difficulty level of the first task or the second task is modified in real-time during the period of time; and

wherein the cognitive measure is computed using the difficulty level modifications made during the period of time.

20. The computer-implemented system of claim 19 , wherein the memory comprises instructions for causing the one or more processors to execute further steps comprising:

determining a threshold of the difficulty level of the first task or the second task at which the performance measures satisfy one or more predetermined criteria;

wherein the cognitive measure is computed using the determined threshold of the difficulty level of the first task or the second task.

21. The computer-implemented system of claim 20 , wherein the one or more predetermined criteria include maintaining a predetermined level of performance over a predetermined amount of time.

22. The computer-implemented system of claim 16 , wherein the memory comprises instructions for causing the one or more processors to execute further steps comprising:

modifying, during the period of time, a first difficulty level of the first task based on performance measures of one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses; and

modifying, during the period of time, a second difficulty level of the second task based on performance measures of one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses;

wherein the first difficulty level and the second difficulty level are modified in real-time during the period of time; and

wherein the cognitive measure is computed using one or both of the first difficulty level modifications and the second difficulty level modifications.

23. The computer-implemented system of claim 16 , wherein the first task is a visuomotor task, the first stimuli include a navigation path, and the first plurality of responses include continuous inputs.

24. The computer-implemented system of claim 16 , wherein the second task is a reaction task, the second stimuli include target stimuli that require responses from the individual, and the second plurality of responses include inputs reacting to at least one interference.

25. The computer-implemented system of claim 24 , wherein the second stimuli include distractor stimuli that require no response from the individual.

26. The computer-implemented system of claim 16 , wherein computing the cognitive measure includes applying statistical analysis to one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses.

27. The computer-implemented system of claim 16 , wherein the cognitive measure is a composite measure computed using the external information and the performance measures of one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses.

28. A computer-implemented system for monitoring cognitive deficits of an individual, comprising:

a computing device comprising one or more processors, a display component, an input device, and a sensor; and

a memory comprising instructions which when executed cause the one or more processors to execute steps comprising:

presenting, by the display component, a visuomotor task to the individual over a period of time, the visuomotor task-comprising a navigation path evoking navigation responses from the individual;

presenting, by the display component, a reaction task to the individual over the period of time, the reaction task comprising target stimuli evoking reaction responses from the individual and distractor stimuli that require no response from the individual, wherein the target stimuli and the distractor stimuli are presented simultaneously with at least some of the navigation path;

receiving, through the sensor, the navigation responses of the individual, the sensor being selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a physiological sensor;

receiving, through the input device, the reaction responses of the individual, wherein the input device is selected from the group consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a camera, a video game controller, a touch screen, a virtual keyboard, and a physiological input device;

determining, by the computing device, that the visuomotor task is being performed by the individual based on the navigation responses;

computing, by the computing device, a cognitive measure using a combination of the reaction responses and external information, wherein computing the cognitive measure comprises:

(i) determining performance measures using the reaction responses, the performance measures being correlated with a presence and a severity of a predetermined cognitive deficit,

(ii) comparing the one or both of the navigation responses and the reaction responses with at least one set of prior navigation responses and/or reaction responses from the individual,

(iii) comparing the performance measures to the external information, the external information comprising

performance measures of individuals with known cognitive conditions associated with the presence and the severity of the predetermined cognitive deficit, and

(iv) applying a computer data model comprising at least one machine learning technique to the performance measures and the external information, wherein the at least one machine learning technique is configured to analyze one or more patterns between the performance measures of the individual and the performance measures of the individuals with the known cognitive conditions to compute a predictive measure for the presence and the severity of the predetermined cognitive deficit; and

outputting, by the computing device, a cognitive assessment based on the cognitive measure, the cognitive assessment comprising a measure of progression of the predetermined cognitive deficit in the individual over a specified period of time.

29. The computer-implemented system of claim 28 , wherein the predetermined cognitive deficit is a cognitive side effect of a therapy or medication.

30. The computer-implemented system of claim 28 , wherein the predetermined cognitive deficit comprises a symptom of a disease state.

31. The computer-implemented system of claim 28 , wherein:

the cognitive measure is a composite measure computed using the external information and the performance measures of one or both of the navigation responses of the individual to the visuomotor task and the reaction responses of the individual to the reaction task; and

computing the cognitive measure further comprises applying a signal detection technique selected from a sensitivity index and bias.

32. The computer-implemented system of claim 28 , wherein computing the cognitive measure further comprises calculating a reaction time for a response to a stimuli divided by a reaction time window in which a user can respond to the reaction time in the first task or a mean reaction time to stimuli divided by a standard deviation of the reaction time in the first task.

33. The computer-implemented system of claim 32 , wherein a combination of performance measures comprises a tradeoff summary comprising a game-level threshold for one task divided by a game-level threshold for another task.

34. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions for diagnosing a disease or assessing a disease state in an individual, the instructions being configured to cause a computer processing system to execute steps comprising:

receiving a first plurality of responses by the individual to a first task, the first task comprising a first stimuli evoking the first plurality of responses from the individual over a period of time;

receiving a second plurality of responses by the individual to a second task, the second task comprising a second stimuli evoking the second plurality of responses from the individual over the period of time,

wherein the second stimuli are presented simultaneously with at least some of the first stimuli,

wherein the first stimuli and the second stimuli are configured to provide a predictive measure of one or more cognitive functions associated with one or more specific diseases or disease states, and

wherein the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses

(i) comprise at least one of motion by the individual or physiological input from the individual, and

(ii) are detected using one or more sensors, the sensors being selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a physiological sensor;

determining that the first task and the second task are performed by the individual based on the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses;

computing a cognitive measure using one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses and applying a signal detection technique selected from the group consisting of: a sensitivity index, a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, and bias, wherein computing the cognitive measure comprises:

(i) determining performance measures using one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses, the performance measures being associated with the one or more cognitive functions associated with the one or more specific diseases or disease states,

(ii) comparing the performance measures to external information, the external information comprising

performance measures of individuals with known cognitive conditions comprising the one or more specific diseases or disease states, and

(iii) applying a computer data model comprising at least one machine learning technique to the performance measures and the external information, wherein the at least one machine learning technique is configured to analyze one or more patterns between the performance measures of the individual and the performance measures of the individuals with the known cognitive conditions to compute a predictive measure for the one or more specific diseases or disease states; and

outputting a cognitive assessment based on the cognitive measure, the cognitive assessment comprising a diagnosis of the one or more specific diseases or an assessment of the one or more specific disease states.

35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 , wherein the instructions are configured to cause the computer processing system to execute an additional step of:

modifying, during the period of time, a difficulty level of the first task or the second task based on the performance measures.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35 ,

wherein the difficulty level of the first task or the second task is modified in real-time during the period of time; and

wherein the cognitive measure is computed using the difficulty level modifications made during the period of time.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 36 , wherein the instructions are configured to cause the computer processing system to execute additional steps of:

determining a threshold of the difficulty level of the first task or the second task at which the performance measures satisfy one or more predetermined criteria; and

computing the cognitive measure using the determined threshold of the difficulty level.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 , wherein the instructions being configured to cause the computer processing system to execute further steps comprise:

modifying, during the period of time, a first difficulty level of the first task based on performance measures of one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses; and

modifying, during the period of time, a second difficulty level of the second task based on performance measures of one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses;

wherein the first difficulty level and the second difficulty level are modified in real-time during the period of time; and

wherein the cognitive measure is computed using one or both of the first difficulty level modifications and the second difficulty level modifications.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 , wherein the first task is a visuomotor task, the first stimuli include a navigation path, and the first plurality of responses include continuous inputs.

40. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 , wherein computing the cognitive measure comprises applying a sensitivity index or bias as the signal detection technique.

41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 , wherein the cognitive measure is a composite measure computed using performance measures of the first plurality of responses to the first task and performance measures of the second plurality of responses to the second task.

42. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 , wherein the cognitive measure is a composite measure computed using at least two types of performance measures of one of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses.

43. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 , wherein the cognitive measure is a composite measure computed using the external information and the performance measures of one or both of the first plurality of responses and the second plurality of responses.

44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 , wherein the external information further comprises one or more tests configured to measure symptom severity of the one or more specific diseases or disease states.

45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34 , wherein the external information further comprises one or more tests configured to identify a biomarker associated with the one or more specific diseases or disease states.

46. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions for monitoring cognitive deficits of an individual, the instructions being configured to cause a computing device having a display component, an input device, and a sensor to execute steps comprising:

presenting, by the display component, a visuomotor task to the individual over a period of time, the visuomotor task including a navigation path evoking navigation responses from the individual;

presenting, by the display component, a reaction task to the individual over the period of time, the reaction task including target stimuli evoking reaction responses from the individual and distractor stimuli that require no response from the individual, wherein the target stimuli and the distractor stimuli are presented simultaneously with at least some of the navigation path;

receiving, through the sensor, the navigation responses of the individual, the sensor being selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a physiological sensor;

receiving, through the input device, the reaction responses of the individual, wherein the input device is selected from the group consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a camera, a video game controller, a touch screen, a virtual keyboard, and a physiological input device;

determining, by the computing device, that the visuomotor task is being performed by the individual based on the navigation responses;

computing, by the computing device, a cognitive measure using the navigation responses and the reaction responses, wherein computing the cognitive measure comprises:

(i) determining performance measures using one or both of the navigation responses and the reaction responses, the performance measures being correlated with a presence and a severity of a predetermined cognitive deficit,

(ii) comparing the one or both of the navigation responses and the reaction responses with at least one set of prior navigation responses and/or reaction responses from the individual,

(iii) comparing the performance measures to external information, the external information comprising

performance measures of individuals with known cognitive conditions associated with the presence and the severity of the predetermined cognitive deficit, and

(iv) applying a computer data model comprising at least one machine learning technique to the performance measures and the external information, wherein the at least one machine learning technique is configured to analyze one or more patterns between the performance measures of the individual and the performance measures of the individuals with the known cognitive conditions to compute a predictive measure for the presence and the severity of the predetermined cognitive deficit; and

outputting, by the computing device, a cognitive assessment based on the cognitive measure, the cognitive assessment comprising a measure of progression of the predetermined cognitive deficit in the individual over a specified period of time.