Alzheimer's : Existing memory tests

What are the currently existing tests to detect memory impairments? What are the differences between these tests and the MemTrax test?

1. There are hundreds of tests available for testing for various types of cognitive impairments. These tests have been developed over the last hundred years.
2. The tests of most use⁽¹⁾ for detecting early Alzheimer's disease are simple questions that are administered by a trained clinician. The best tests include several items such as asking a person to report the date, remember 3 to 5 items for a few minutes, remember a short story, name items (usually animals) for a minute, spell a word backwards (e.g., WORLD), and draw a clock⁽²⁾. These tests take valuable clinician time, usually 10 minutes of clinician time at a minimum, even though an actual test may take less than 4 minutes to administer. Most of such tests are copyrighted and can be subject to charges; for example one widely used but very old test is associated with a $1 charge each time it is given.
3. More specific tests for the memory problems most affected by Alzheimer's disease involve asking a person to repeat a list of words (10 to 16 words) several times, then asking if the person can remember the words some time later. A similar test asks the person to remember a story and recall specific parts of the story some time later. These particular tests are administered by Neuropsychologists and cost from $10 to $30 each time they are administered, on top of the cost of the professional's time. These tests are unpleasant to take, and subjects do not like to take the tests a second time.
4. There are tests that users can take on-line, but these tests are mostly crude implementations of the above tests.
5. Until there is a change in thinking about such tests, there are no new cognitive screening tests that will appear.
6. MemTrax provides a totally new direction in assessing cognitive function. This test came from early roots in the testing of memory in animals, including pigeons and monkeys. It has been found that MemTrax is actually able to test the function of the regions of the brain most directly affected by Alzheimer's disease and commonly affected by other types of dementia. MemTrax is a fun test that is willingly repeated by subjects. Further, each time the test is repeated, there is an improvement in the estimation of the individual’s actual memory capacity.