Cognitive Test Board Layout Without Language or Color Bias
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cognitive tests like the Trail Making Test (TMT) face limitations in non-English speakers and illiterate individuals due to language biases, and adaptations face validation issues and are difficult for those with color blindness or visual impairments.
Innovation Solution
A cognitive function assessment test board and method where numbers are arranged with distinct notation methods, classified into couplers and intruders, ensuring specific distance and notation differences to enhance differentiation and test reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the Trail Making Test (TMT) uses the English alphabet in TMT Part B, then the test can assess frontal lobe executive function, but it creates a bias toward low performance among non-English speakers and illiterate older adults
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the language element from the test by replacing English alphabet letters with numerical symbols. This removes the harmful language bias while preserving the test's ability to assess frontal lobe executive function through the same numerical connection task.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal test format using numbers that can be understood across different languages and cultural backgrounds. The numerical symbols serve multiple functions: they maintain the cognitive assessment purpose while eliminating language-specific biases, making the test applicable to diverse populations including non-English speakers and illiterate individuals.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the Color Trail Test (CTT) is used to avoid language bias, then non-English speakers can participate, but the Stroop effect affects validity and reliability, and it is difficult to apply to people with color blindness or visual impairment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the color element from the test format, eliminating the Stroop effect that compromises validity and reliability. By using only numerical symbols without color coding, the test achieves accurate measurement of frontal lobe function without the interference of color-based cognitive tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universally applicable test using numerical symbols that can be understood by people with varying levels of visual impairment and without relying on color perception. The numerical format provides universal accessibility across different visual abilities and cultural backgrounds.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If TMT adaptations are developed for illiterate and non-native English speakers, then language bias is reduced, but validation is still needed and utility is very limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent develops a universally applicable numerical test format that can be used across different languages, cultures, and educational levels. The numerical symbols provide a universal language that transcends linguistic barriers, enabling the test to be validly applied to diverse populations without requiring language-specific validation for each adaptation.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method and a system for testing cognitive ability. By using the method and testing system of the present invention, a highly effective and reliable test related to frontal lobe activity can be performed. The test results can be utilized to provide information for the diagnosis of diseases that lead to cognitive impairment.