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Digital Trail Making Test‐Black and White: For android and iOS

2020; Wiley; Volume: 16; Issue: S6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/alz.037886

1552-5279

Chanda Simfukwe, Min Jae Baek, SangYun Kim, Seong Soo An,

Technology Adoption and User Behaviour

Abstract Background The pen‐paper version Trail Making Test‐Black and White (TMT‐B&W) method was developed previously, the collection of pen‐paper based results and its analyses may increase time‐consumption and create workloads for administrators/subjects while performing the trial test and afterward. To increase the efficiency of the data, collections, and analyses, the touch‐screen based digital Trail Making Test‐Black and White (dTMT‐B&W) based on Android tablets/iPad was developed to enhance the pen‐paper based TMT‐B&W. Method The dTMT‐B&W was developed using a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Thunkable X application inventor software, a visual online programming environment with the Android/iOS development tools, which are used to build fully functional apps for Android/iOS smartphones and tablets. The dTMT‐B&W is designed with self‐administration and additional features that help in easy data collection and analysis within much less time. The dTMT‐B&W was designed to run on a 10.5 inch Samsung Galaxy Tab A and 12.9 inches iPad Pro touchscreen tablets. The dTMT‐B&W, designed to be consistent with the pen‐paper based TMT‐B&W as possible, uses black and white circles with numbers arranged in sequential order consisting of two parts: Part‐A and Part‐B, where the subject is instructed to push buttons in black and white circles to connect them as quickly as possible while maintaining the accuracy and time. Paper‐based TMT‐B&W, a subject has to connect randomly distributed black & white circles with numbers distributed on a sheet of paper in ascending order in two parts as quickly as possible without lifting the pen or pencil from the paper sheet. Result The dTMT‐B&W was successfully developed as an Android/iOS application with some well‐improved features that were embedded into the design to look as similar to the original pen‐paper TMT‐B&W test as possible in order to establish equal convergent validity. Conclusion The dTMT‐B&W can measure the same aspects of cognition as the pen‐paper based TMT‐B&W more easily. Furthermore, dTMT‐B&W’s additional features and data may be able to help administer other cognitive methods not obtained by the pen‐paper TMT‐B&W.