title: A Java speech implementation of the Mini Mental Status Exam.
abstract: The Folstein Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) is a simple, widely used, verbally administered test to assess cognitive function. The Java Speech Application Programming Interface (JSAPI) is a new, cross-platform interface for both speech recognition and speech synthesis in the Java environment. To evaluate the suitability of the JSAPI for interactive, patient interview applications, a JSAPI implementation of the MMSE was developed. The MMSE contains questions that vary in structure in order to assess different cognitive functions. This question variability provided an excellent test-bed to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of JSAPI. The application is based on Java platform 2 and a JSAPI interface to the IBM ViaVoice recognition engine. Design and implementations issues are discussed. Preliminary usability studies demonstrate that an automated MMSE maybe a useful screening tool for cognitive disorders and changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Starren
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D011381:Programming Languages; D012984:Software; D013060:Speech; D014584:User-Computer Interface