Led by Expert Consensus Initiator, Herling Medical Tackles Early Screening and Intervention of Alzheimer's Disease with Digital Therapeutics

In an era of intensifying global aging, the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (hereinafter referred to as AD) continues to rise.

According to the "China Alzheimer's Disease Report 2024," in 2019, the number of people in China with AD and other dementias reached over 13 million, accounting for one-quarter of the global total. It is no exaggeration to say thatGlobally, an elderly person is diagnosed with AD almost every three seconds., imposing a heavy psychological and economic burden on families and society. In contrast, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in China still facesShortage of Specialists, Low Public Awareness, and Suboptimal Diagnosis and Treatment RatesCurrent Status.

The "Healthy China Action (2019–2030)" explicitly states that greater attention should be paid to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and effective measures should be taken to prevent and slow its onset.Song Luping, Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Union Shenzhen Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technologywith nearly four decades of research and clinical experience in rehabilitation medicine, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. She spearheaded the drafting and publication of China’s first “Chinese Expert Consensus on Rehabilitation Management of Alzheimer’s Disease,” filling a gap in the field of AD rehabilitation in China and establishing it as the national technical standard and guideline for AD care.

To better intervene in various cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Director Song Luping, serving as the chief scientist, provides guidanceShenzhen Heling Medical Equipment Technology Development Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as “Heling Medical”), employs innovative digital therapeutics for the screening, assessment, and intervention of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), while assisting healthcare professionals in enhancing their capabilities in the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of AD and related geriatric conditions.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by an insidious onset and slow, progressive course. It is typically categorized into a preclinical stage, which is asymptomatic or associated with only mild cognitive impairment, and gradually progresses to a state of dementia that impairs activities of daily living.

Currently, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is believed to have a latent period of 15–20 years, encompassing the preclinical stages of normal cognition, subjective cognitive decline, and mild cognitive impairment. This phase is considered the golden window for AD intervention. On one hand, pathological changes in the brain are still relatively limited; on the other hand, neuroplasticity remains high. With appropriate cognitive training and comprehensive interventions, there is still an opportunity to maintain or even improve patients’ cognitive function.

However, in clinical practice, most patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) who present to hospitals have already entered an irreversible stage of brain pathology. Therefore,How to Early Detect Alzheimer’s Disease Patients and Implement Effective Interventions During the Golden Window Has Become a Critical Challenge in AD Prevention and Treatment.

The development of a digital therapeutic capable of providing precise early-stage auxiliary diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been prioritized. As an intervention grounded in evidence-based medicine, cognitive digital therapeutics have become a recommended approach for AD treatment, either as monotherapy or in combination with pharmacological and other non-pharmacological therapies. Furthermore, digital therapeutics have been classified as“Computerized Cognitive Training” Included in Medical Insurance Coverage, with the exception of Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Tibet, coverage has been achieved across the rest of China.

Therefore, from both the perspective of clinical needs and policy direction, Director Song Luping believes that there is an urgent need to develop user-friendly digital solutions for the detection and intervention of cognitive impairment. As a result, the Cognitive Function Assessment and Training System, developed in 2018, was included in the achievement promotion program of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission and has been promoted and applied in eight hospitals in Beijing. Four years later, relying onHeling Medical, this technology has been successfully translated and implemented into clinical practice.

Empowered by artificial intelligence and big data technologies, the Heling Cognitive Function Assessment and Training Software has now achievedFrom Screening, Assessment, and Prevention to Intervention and Managementa fully digitalized closed-loop process.

First is the screening assessment. The system coversMini-Cognitive Screening Scale, Cognitive Assessment Scale, which can provide a simple assessment of users across multiple domains, including speech and language, swallowing, sleep, mood and mental health, motor function, balance, activities of daily living, and quality of life, thereby serving as an initial screening tool.

Next is intelligent assessment. Based on Director Song Luping’s years of scientific research experience, Heling Medical has developed a set ofTest Combination Model for Targeted Cognitive ModulesUpon completion of the testing, the system performs an intelligent assessment of the patient. A complete cognitive domain test battery takes approximately 30 minutes and covers six major domains, each of which is further subdivided into six subitems. The system assigns training tasks with difficulty levels tailored to the patient’s cognitive assessment profile. This approach prevents the test-taker from experiencing excessive difficulty or anxiety, which could bias subsequent performance, while also providing a comprehensive understanding of the individual’s baseline cognitive status.According to the experimental data, the accuracy of this test model is 99%.

Additionally, Heling Medical has adopted internationally recognizedDSM-5: Six Major Cognitive Domains and Their SubdomainsAs a classification model, the test subject’s cognitive function is structured into six major modules, with six tasks in each module. Based on embedded intelligent algorithms, the computer automatically generates a patient’s cognitive profile, presented as a cognitive ability radar chart. This radar chart enables physicians to gain an immediate, comprehensive overview of the patient’s brain functional status, including whether impairments exist in specific cognitive domains and the severity of such impairments.

This model canPrecisely provide the competencies assessed by each task within each module and the patient’s performance scores., thereby providing specific recommendations for training intensity, achieving adaptive matching of the content and difficulty levels of cognitive tasks, and offering targeted, personalized training recommendations to attain optimal therapeutic outcomes.

Yu Heli, head of Heling Medical, illustrated the company’s therapeutic philosophy using muscle training as an example: “Just as in a gym, if the goal is to build muscle in a specific area, targeted exercises are required. Such exercises ensure that the target muscles receive adequate stimulation, thereby promoting growth. The brain works similarly: whichever cognitive training is performed, the brain regions responsible for that cognitive task become more robust, and their function improves accordingly.”

After accurately identifying the target,Heling Medical's digital intervention and treatment system can develop personalized cognitive function training programs for patients.The system generates diverse training exercises based on the patient’s cognitive abilities to achieve multidimensional training objectives. The difficulty level of the tasks adapts dynamically to the patient’s capability range, aiming to sustain their interest in cognitive training and thereby enhance adherence through intrinsic motivation.

Furthermore, unlike the common “level-based” training programs currently available on the market, the Heling Medical System does not merely emphasize the accumulation of training volume; instead, it places greater emphasis on the effectiveness of patients’ training regimens. The Heling Medical training content comprises six modules corresponding to its assessments, with each module consisting of six tasks, totaling 36 tasks. Each task offers six difficulty levels.Providing Patients with the Most Suitable Training Difficulty。

Moreover, the system generates customized training cycles based on each patient’s condition. At the end of each cycle, patients undergo reassessment to continuously update their training protocols, thereby helping to slow disease progression and improve and enhance cognitive function.Even middle-aged and older adults who have not yet developed Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can use this system to achieve preventive effects against AD.

Currently, Heling Medical's Cognitive Function Assessment and Training SoftwareApproved for National Class II Medical Device Certificate. According to statistics, as of October 2024, this productServed over 50,000 patient visits, its safety and efficacy have been validated in practice.

In addition to serving patients, Director Song Luping believes that the scarcity of specialists and insufficient awareness among primary care physicians are also major challenges in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in China today. In light of this, Heling Medical is currentlyDesign a digital expert system for the physician-facing end.

Leveraging the scientific research and clinical expertise of Heling Medical’s expert panel, along with extensive clinical data, the expert system provides auxiliary diagnostic recommendations to clinicians based on patient presentations. This facilitates the decentralization of medical resources to primary care settings, enabling more patients to access convenient and accurate diagnosis and treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Next, Heling Medical will leverage emerging technologies such as AR and VR to assemble a metaverse R&D team comprising renowned domestic experts. This initiative will enable patients to receive professional cognitive training and assessment in the comfort of their homes or communities, thereby capitalizing on the critical window of opportunity for intervention.

AD screening and intervention mark the starting point for Heling Medical, which has partnered with Beijing Aviation General Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, China Rehabilitation Research Center, and other institutions.Over 70 Renowned InstitutionsExpand cooperation to further optimize the Heling product series and continue to driveParkinson's Diseasethe development and market launch of digital assessment tools and solutions. In the future, Heling Medical will leverage medical big data technology to provide precise, platform-based rehabilitation management services for patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders, ensuring that the benefits of advancements in medical technology reach households everywhere.