Five Reasons Why Early Detection is Critical for Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive neurological disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Recognizing the stages and the benefits of early detection can make a significant difference in the management and quality of life for those affected. Early diagnosis allows for better medical management, access to support services, effective planning for the future, improved quality of life, and participation in clinical trials.

For Alzheimer's Awareness Month, Canary Speech, the leading AI-powered voice biomarker health tech company that uses real-time patented vocal analysis to screen for mental health and neurological disorders, shares five reasons why early detection of Alzheimer’s is critical for patients and their families:

• Early detection enables Alzheimer’s patients and their families to plan ahead for legal, financial, and care decisions. A power of attorney document — one for property and affairs, another for health and welfare — allows a person with Alzheimer's to designate someone they trust to make decisions for them once they're unable to do so themselves. The more involved the patient can be in drafting this document themselves, the better.
• Early detection connects individuals to support groups and resources. The Alzheimer’s Association website lists a broad range of virtual and in-person support groups across the U.S., both in English and in Spanish.
• Early diagnosis allows for more effective use of medications and therapies. Some treatments are more beneficial when started early and some treatments can stop or delay progression.
• With early diagnosis, healthcare professionals can help Alzheimer’s patients create a plan to lead a healthy lifestyle, including controlling high blood pressure, incorporating physical activity, and making healthy dietary choices. In one study, patients with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's who engaged in an intensive program of diet, exercise, stress reduction and social interaction were able to slow the progression of cognitive decline and even improved some symptoms.
• Lifestyle changes (such as maintaining activities of daily living, physical activity, and cognitive stimulation) and interventions (early stage support groups, behavioral therapy) can help maintain cognitive function longer and make living with the disease more comfortable.

Fortunately, early detection is non-invasive and more accurate and affordable than ever. For example, vocal biomarkers — a signature, a feature, or a combination of features from the audio signal of the human voice - when applied properly, can assess the differences in speech features to accurately identify more than 96 percent of the audio files of callers who had diagnostic histories of Alzheimer’s.
About Canary Speech
Canary Speech is the leading AI-powered voice biomarker health tech company that uses real-time patented vocal analysis to screen for mental health and neurological disorders. Canary’s vocal biomarker technology captures and analyzes speech data within seconds to identify irregularities in behavioral and cognitive changes before current clinical screening standards or noticeable symptoms for invisible illnesses like anxiety, depression and dementia. Canary Speech is a Utah-based company that advances speech and language applications for health systems, payers and pharmaceutical markets.