Accuracy of the SWAY Mobile Cognitive Assessment Application.
Heidi A VanRavenhorst-Bell, Melissa A Muzeau, Lindsay Luinstra and 2 others
PMID 34386278WHAT IT FOUND
The SWAY cognitive app produced similar reaction time scores across iPhone and Samsung devices, but only one iPad and two Pixel tests were run.
It correlated weakly to moderately with the ImPACT QT, meaning the two apps are not interchangeable for clinical decisions.
Key findings
01SWAY CA reaction time scores did not differ significantly between the mobile devices tested, but the sample size for the iPad (n=1) and Google Pixel (n=2) was too small to draw firm conclusions about those specific devices.
02Correlations between SWAY CA and ImPACT QT measures were generally weak to moderate, suggesting the two applications measure reaction time differently and are not directly comparable.
03SWAY CA consistently recorded faster reaction times than ImPACT QT, likely because SWAY uses motion detection while ImPACT uses touch screen response.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study had only one data point for the iPad and two for the Google Pixel, so it cannot confirm if the app works reliably on those devices. The participants were healthy college students, so the results may not apply to athletes with concussions or older adults with cognitive decline. The SWAY CA and ImPACT QT use different methods to record a response (moving the device vs. touching the screen), which may explain why their scores do not match well. The study did not test the same person multiple times on the same device, so it cannot confirm if the app gives consistent results over time.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the SWAY app is a valid replacement for the ImPACT QT. The two apps use different response methods (motion vs. touch) and showed only weak to moderate correlations, meaning a score from one cannot be directly compared to a baseline from the other.