NTL Record

Title A Candidate Automated Test Battery for Neuropsychological Screening of Airmen: Design and Preliminary Validation
Record ID 39590
Personal Name
Creator
O'Donnell, Robert D.; Hordinsky, Jerry R.; Madakasira, Sudahar; Moise, Samuel; Warner, Debra
Corporate Creator Civil Aeromedical Institute
Corporate
Contributor
United States. Office of Aviation Medicine
Publisher Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Publication Date 19920200
Language English
Abstract A panel of the American Medical Association convened by the Federal Aviation Administration recommended that a computerized test of cognitive function be developed that would detect significant cognitive impairments that might otherwise go unrecognized during a routine physical examination. In response to this need, a computerized test battery, based on current cognitive theory, has been developed that provides a brief screening for disturbances in higher-level cognitive function. This battery is not designed to replace the traditional observational methods used by the physician, but rather to enhance diagnostic sensitivity in areas not currently well covered. The battery operates in a “step” fashion, providing a generalized, non-specific screen at the first level, with two increasingly more specific screens if that level is failed. The output of the battery is a verbal protocol to the examiner presenting a series of “rule out” recommendations for further diagnostic testing. In this report, the background and composition of this test are described, and the results of three initial validation and sensitivity studies are reported. The present test development suggests the utility of transferring previously expensive and more complex diagnostic approaches to a computerized testing and decision process. This development of an automated approach to cognitive function testing was one of three sponsored by the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine during 1987 - 1990.
Rosap ID dot:21368
Rosap URL https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/21368
TRT Terms Neurology; Medical examinations and tests; Psychiatry; Mental condition; Air pilots; Performance tests
General Subjects Air pilots; Neuropsychological tests--Technological innovations; Mental health
Classification NTL - AVIATION - AVIATION
Geographical
Coverage
United States
Report Number DOT/FAA/AM-92/11
Resource type Tech Report
URL https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/39000/39500/39590/AM92-11.pdf
Format PDF
Database NTL Digital Repository