Use of the automatic clock drawing test to rapidly screen for cognitive impairment in older adults, drivers, and the physically challenged [letter to the editor].

The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is a widely used cognitive assessment in the Western hemisphere and in other parts of the world. It is used as a screening tool to detect cognitive impairment, patient pathology, brain lesion development, and various forms of dementia and psychiatric disorders, yet various methods, scoring, recording, and reporting techniques of the CDT lead to subjectivity. The administration of the CDT on paper proves unfeasible, especially in hospitals, and transportation licensing bureaus, and driver’s license agencies where thousands or millions of older and at-risk adults should receive annual cognitive screenings. Also, numerous older adults with vision impairment and physical disabilities who are unable to draw or hold a writing instrument are unable to take the CDT. These obstacles limit the application of the CDT to clinical environments, trained examiners, and physically able older adults. The greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia is increasing age. Nowhere is this more evident than within the transportation infrastructure. (Author/publisher)