# In-Vehicle Sensors to Detect Cognitive Change in Older Drivers

> **NIH NIH R01** · FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $1,449,617

## Abstract

Project Summary / Abstract
 Brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease and related chronic degenerative dementias may
begin as long as 20 years before clinical symptoms become evident. There is increasing evidence that
unobtrusive monitoring of older adults' performance of complex daily activities of living may allow us to detect
some of these subtle early changes in cognition. The rapidly increasing use of sensors not only in commercial
vehicles, but also in passenger vehicles, and large number of older drivers on U.S. roads suggest that sensor
data may be reconfigured to provide this early warning system. In this longitudinal mixed methods study, we
will recruit and enroll 750 older drivers, establish their baseline cognitive function and driving behavior
profiles, and repeat the cognitive testing and in-vehicle sensor data downloading every three months for three
years (12 data points). Over this time, we expect approximately 200 participants to have experienced
measurable cognitive decline either from unimpaired to mild cognitive impairment levels and/or mild
cognitive impairment to early stage dementia levels. We propose to install a sensor system which will include
unobtrusive cameras, on-board diagnostics (OBD), GPS and inertial measurement units (IMU) configured to
track and record driver behavior in the passenger vehicles of these 750 older adult (≥ 65) drivers. The recorded
changes in driver behavior will be compared to results from a battery of cognitive tests (global cognition,
executive function, memory, visuospatial, visual attention and language) with demonstrated ability to detect
early cognitive changes and to predict driver risk. The innovation of this research project lies in the rigorous
testing of an unobtrusive, rapidly and readily available in-vehicle sensing and monitoring system for its ability
to detect early changes in cognition in older drivers. There is an estimated 4 to 8 million older drivers with
mild cognitive impairment on the roads in the U.S. This significant number of older drivers poses a major
concern for public safety. Moreover, the majority may be unaware of the cognitive changes occurring. Current
dementia screening programs are able to test only a small number of older adults and the wellness visits
covered by Medicare do not detect these early, subtle changes. Yet early detection offers many medical,
emotional and financial benefits for the individual, family and society, opening a “window of time” to intervene
in the progression of the disease in the future (Alzheimer's Association 2019 Report). The proposed testing
and evaluation of a readily and rapidly available, unobtrusive in-vehicle sensing system could provide the first
step toward future widespread, low-cost, early warnings of change for the large number of older drivers in the
U.S.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10261561
- **Project number:** 5R01AG068472-02
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** David Newman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,449,617
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10261561

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10261561, In-Vehicle Sensors to Detect Cognitive Change in Older Drivers (5R01AG068472-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10261561. Licensed CC0.

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