Samsung supports the early detection of cognitive decline with The Mind Guardian, a video game based on AI.
On World Alzheimer’s Day, held on September 21, it was estimated that around 800,000 people in Spain suffer from this disease.
Early detection of cognitive decline is key to facilitating the diagnosis of this condition in its early stages and to intervening as soon as possible in its development, improving the quality of life of patients and their environment.
Samsung Electronics Iberia joined this year’s World Alzheimer’s Day events, aimed at raising awareness of the impact of this neurodegenerative disease, giving visibility to those affected and their families, and promoting research and access to comprehensive care.
This date, established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and sponsored by Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) in 1994, serves to raise awareness and share with society the main concerns and needs of the millions of people affected. In 2024, according to the Spanish Society of Neurology, dementia affected one in ten people over 65 and 33% of those over 85.
‘The Mind Guardian’: the importance of early detection
Last March, Samsung Electronics Iberia, in collaboration with the atlanTTic Research Center for Telecommunication Technologies at the University of Vigo, launched The Mind Guardian, an innovative gamified application based on artificial intelligence aimed at people aged 55 and over in Spain. It offers a memory self-assessment test for large-scale screening of signs of cognitive decline, a common symptom in the early stages of diseases such as Alzheimer’s. This represents a milestone in the field of health and applied technology, breaking barriers and enabling subsequent early detection by physicians of dementias such as Alzheimer’s, which affects 800,000 people in Spain alone.
The main mission of The Mind Guardian is to provide tangible support both to those affected and to their families and caregivers. Its great value lies in its ability to detect the first signs of cognitive decline in people without obvious symptoms. If possible warning signs are detected, The Mind Guardian acts as an initial alert, speeding up the subsequent consultation with medical professionals.
When potential decline is detected, people can adopt lifestyle changes such as improving diet, exercising, reducing exposure to pollutants, or modifying social and work habits that help enrich their cognitive structure and stay healthier for longer.
In the case of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, an early medical diagnosis after the detection of symptoms allows intervention in the initial phases of the disease, giving access to specific treatments and therapies that can increase patients’ quality of life by up to 10 years and reduce the effects of dementias by up to 40%.
Another advantage is that patients are able to make planned and informed decisions about their care. Early detection can also benefit people professionally, allowing those who are capable and wish to continue working to adapt their jobs and remain active in the workforce.
According to the Spanish Society of Neurology, in around 50% of cases, Alzheimer’s is not diagnosed until the patient has reached a moderate stage of the disease. In addition, between 30% and 50% of people with some form of dementia do not receive an accurate diagnosis, highlighting the value of this application as a support tool to facilitate and expedite subsequent diagnosis by healthcare professionals.
More than 60,000 downloads of ‘The Mind Guardian’
Six months after its launch, the application has exceeded 64,000 downloads, showing the public’s interest in caring for their cognitive health and the potential of technology to enable large-scale screening for cognitive decline.
The The Mind Guardian app can be downloaded completely free from the Google Play Store and Samsung Galaxy Store in Spain. It is available for tablets running Android 10 or higher and is optimized for screens larger than 7.8 inches.
This initiative is part of Technology with Purpose, Samsung’s commitment to making technology improve people’s lives. The Mind Guardian, which already has the scientific and technological endorsement of the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), the endorsement of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry and Mental Health (SEPSM), and the institutional endorsement of the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians (SEMERGEN), represents a breakthrough in the early detection of cognitive decline, democratizing access to innovative screening tools, while never replacing clinical diagnosis.
