As part of Alzheimer Awareness Month, the local Alzheimer Society is raising awareness about an online cognitive test that can detect early signs of dementia and will help to develop new treatments.

The Alzheimer Society London and Middlesex has partnered with Cogniciti, a digital health firm with Baycrest Health Sciences, to inform residents about Cogniciti’s Brain Health Assessment tool.

“It’s really about getting the word out that this tool is available and it’s a really a dual purpose tool,” said Bruce Wray, a spokesperson with Alzheimer Society London and Middlesex. “One of the reasons Cogniciti brought it out is to help us as we age, to determine if we have memory issues. The other [reason] is to identify people who could register in a database of volunteers for research trials.”

Wray said the online assessment will not provide a diagnosis, but it will inform those using it if their memory loss is significant enough to warrant consulting a doctor.

“As we age, our cognitive abilities decline — that’s a natural thing. But when that happens to you, it makes you wonder and particularly if you have dementia in your family history,” said Wray. “This test is able to kind of allay some of those fears, and/or identify that you may have a problem.”

The tool is aimed at adults aged 40 to 79.

“There’s been a lot of work on it, scientific validated work. So it’s a pretty accurate appraisal of where you’re at with your memory,” added Wray.

Anyone is able take the test for free, without any obligations. However, anyone taking the test can share their information with researchers and join the registry of clinical trial volunteers.

Wray said it’s normally difficult to find volunteers because adults who see their doctor for a memory issue are often too far into the disease process to qualify for at-risk studies. He added that Cogniciti’s online assessment helps address the issue by matching younger adults with clinical research studies that fit their brain health scores and health history.

All information submitted through the online assessment is kept confidential.

“They need to get the word out there that it’s available, because their main goal is to increase the numbers of volunteers that are available for clinical trials,” said Wray, who added that the assessment was made available to the public over a year ago.