Citation

Straus SH. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 2007; 55(2): 310-311.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article describes the Clock Drawing Test (CDT), a cognitive assessment widely used as a screening tool to detect cognitive impairment, patient pathology, brain lesion development, and various forms of dementia and psychiatric disorders. The authors note that the use of different methods, scoring, recording and reporting can result in less-than-objective results on the CDT. They caution that the administration of the CDT on paper proves unfeasible, particularly in hospitals and transportation licensing bureaus, and driver's license agencies, where thousands or millions of older and at-risk adults should receive annual cognitive screenings. In addition, visual impairment or physical disabilities may make the CDT impossible to undertake. The authors then describe the Automatic Clock Drawing Test (ACDT), a sensitive and powerful computer-based tool that can be used to objectively and rapidly screen for cognitive impairment and to predict at-fault collision involvement. The authors conclude that the ACDT is significantly easier and quicker to administer than the manual tests and computerization allows for instant scoring and test results.