Can digital technologies transform the assessment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia?

Neuropsychiatric symptoms such as apathy are among the most disabling manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Yet, their assessment still relies largely on subjective clinical scales and infrequent clinic visits.

At the Paris Brain Institute (ICM), the ECOCAPTURE research program has been exploring a different approach for over a decade.
From controlled ecological laboratory settings (ECOCAPTURE@LAB) to continuous home-based monitoring (ECOCAPTURE@HOME), our objective is to develop objective, ecologically valid, and clinically meaningful digital biomarkers using wearable sensors, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and multimodal behavioral analysis.

Our latest protocol, ECOCAPTURE@HOME V2, extends this framework beyond apathy to a broader range of neuropsychiatric symptoms, while integrating the caregiver perspective through a unique dyadic approach.

By combining continuous behavioral and physiological monitoring with clinical validation, we aim to derive digital phenotypes that better reflect how people live and function in their everyday environment.

Ultimately, this work may contribute to earlier detection, improved monitoring, and more personalized care for people living with dementia.