Zest unveils new app-based brain aging test to help prevent dementia decades before symptoms begin
Zest has joined forces with the University of Cambridge’s Memory Lab to introduce a powerful new app-based test to measure brain health and brain aging. The test aims to detect cognitive changes decades before symptom onset, offering a critical window to take action that could significantly delay or even prevent dementia.
Developed in collaboration with the Memory Lab at the University of Cambridge, the Precision Memory Assessment by Zest (PREMAZ) uses cutting-edge technology to detect subtle cognitive changes that may occur decades before symptoms arise, when there’s still time to act.
If individuals in their 40s and 50s learn that they are showing early indicators for cognitive decline, they have time to implement preventative strategies which could almost halve the incidence of future Alzheimer's Disease.
Built on more than a decade of research from Cambridge, PREMAZ focuses on the concept of “memory precision” which explores not just whether or not you remember something, but how well you actually remember it, on a continuous scale. This “memory precision” paradigm, developed by Professor Jon Simons and his team at the Cambridge Memory Lab, has proven to be sensitive to the early changes in brain function that can appear decades before the onset of dementia. It can spot early warning signs that may go unnoticed by standard tests, making it particularly valuable for highly educated individuals where conventional screening tools often fail to detect subtle impairment.
PREMAZ focuses on the types of memory most affected in early dementia:
- Episodic memory: memory for events and experiences
- Recognition memory: the ability to tell similar objects apart
- Processing speed: how quickly the brain responds
- Executive function: decision-making and working memory
This new collaboration between healthtech company Zest and the University of Cambridge’s Memory Lab has enabled the test to move from the lab bench to the app store, making it more practical and accessible to a wider population.
Together, the Cambridge and Zest teams have transformed the lab-based tool into a sleek, 10-minute mobile assessment that can be completed at home or in the clinic with minimal supervision. It’s now available for personal use, or for licensing as a research tool for institutions.
