Consensus Diagnosis Platform for a Large Dementia Research Study
This project conceptualizes and designs an intuitive and flexible platform to facilitate the completion of online dementia diagnoses for large research studies.
Initial situation
The Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC) is an organization that focuses on facilitating global
research in Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. A new study, starting in March 2025 with the first
collection of data, seeks to include historically overlooked demographics in dementia research.
The study and this project are part of a larger international initiative led by the DAC and
involve multiple stakeholders, including research institutions and medical professionals.
A key part of the study is the collaboration between multiple clinicians who assign a diagnosis
label to patients based on the collected data. If the diagnosis is not consistent between the
clinicians, expensive and time-consuming meetings must be scheduled to find a consensus. Because
the clinicians involved are situated all over India, in-person meetings are not feasible.
Therefore, a web application for the initial consensus finding could help reduce the need for
most meetings.
The use of such a web-based platform was validated in "Online Clinical Consensus Diagnosis of
Dementia: Development and Validation", by Jinkook Lee et al., 2020, published in The American
Geriatrics Society. This paper acts as a basis to develop a concept for an individualized
platform for the DAC.
Problem statement / Project goal
The goal of this project is to gain an understanding of how the diagnostic workflow can be
improved with a digital platform and how the diverse clinical information for the diagnosis can
be displayed in a supportive and easy-to-read way. The data shown to the diagnosing clinician
can include, but is not limited to, images, PDF files and structured form data.
- Diagnostic Workflow & UX Design: How can the analysis of the existing digital solution and of current consensus diagnosis methods be used to develop the UX design of a diagnostic workflow that supports clinicians in an independent and unbiased rating process?
- Data Review & Implementation: Can a web-based prototype be designed to display diverse clinical input types (e.g., documents, images, structured data) through a unified, intuitive, and responsive interface that supports clinicians in their diagnosis-making?
Solution developed and its benefits
Diagnostic Workflow & UX Design: The first outcome of the project was a UX prototype for the diagnostic workflow from the perspective of the diagnosing clinician. This prototype was tested and validated by the clinicians responsible for diagnosis, who need a streamlined, distraction-free workflow with supporting visualizations. By prioritizing usability and functionality, the project aimed to enhance efficiency without introducing unnecessary complexity.
Data Review & Implementation:
The second outcome was the implementation of a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) for the data display.
It is implemented with React & TypeScript and uses ShadCN for its component library.
Because the provided data is not defined and can change from study to study, a
configuration-driven approach was used. This method also ensures the flexibility and
expandability of the data types (currently images, uploaded PDFs, and structured data), should
future needs arise. Configurations are currently saved as mock data directly in the code, but
are planned to be extracted into separate files and provide future possibility of
adjusting and adding configurations without needing a developer.
Key terms
- Consensus Diagnosis A clinical decision agreed upon by multiple healthcare professionals after reviewing all relevant evidence.
- User Experience The overall feeling, ease, and satisfaction a person has when interacting with a product or service.
- Dementia A group of conditions causing progressive decline in memory, thinking, and daily functioning.
- React & TypeScript A JavaScript library (React) for building user interfaces, combined with a typed superset of JavaScript (TypeScript) for safer, more maintainable code.
- Proof-of-Concept A small-scale demonstration used to validate an idea’s feasibility before full development.
- Responsive Design An approach to web design that ensures layouts adapt to different devices and screen sizes.
- Configuration Driven Development A software approach where application behavior is controlled by editable configuration files rather than hard-coded logic.
Customer
Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC)
a global partnership of like-minded organizations that is mobilizing the world against
Alzheimer’s disease
Based in Switzerland and USA
https://www.davosalzheimerscollaborative.org/
Team & Advisors
Team: Meredit Sommer & Nadine Zbinden
Advisors
Prof. Dr. Arzu Çöltekin
Dr. Laura Fontanesi
Manuel Riedi