BrainCheck receives $1.5M grant to study digital cognitive care platform

BrainCheck Inc. has received a $1.5 million grant award from the Small Business Innovation Research program, which it will use to fund a study of CARE, its digital cognitive care management platform, the company announced in a news release.

“The grant from [Small Business Innovation Research] is recognition of BrainCheck’s innovative approach to the massive unmet need for cognitive health care,” Yael Katz, PhD, co-founder and CEO of BrainCheck, stated in the release. “BrainCheck CARE has the potential to transform the dementia assessment, diagnosis and care management process for physicians, patients and caregivers.”

According to the release, studies suggest that up to 40% of dementia can be prevented or slowed with early intervention, which requires cognitive care planning and collaboration between patients, their care partners and physicians.

The BrainCheck CARE platform provides clinicians with a personalized, digital workflow that guides patients, care partners and other providers through the process of creating and implementing a cognitive care plan, which includes assessments, education and monitoring.

With funds from the grant, the company stated it will study BrainCheck CARE in diverse patient populations with the goal of identifying and removing barriers to cognitive care, improving operational efficiency and usability, and comparing short- and long-term impacts of the platform on the health and well-being of patients and their caregivers.

“This new study is an important next step for our team to continue examining the BrainCheck CARE platform and its ability to impact patient outcomes,” Reza Ghomi, MD, MSE, chief medical officer at BrainCheck, said in the release. “Post-diagnosis care planning is critical to increasing time at home, preventing hospitalization and respecting patient’s wishes. Physicians must be empowered with the resources to provide this.”

According to the release, BrainCheck is currently utilized in more than 500 clinical practices and enterprise health systems, including UPMC, Advocate Aurora and Mercy. More than 150,000 BrainCheck assessments have been administered.