CognoSpeak

CognoSpeak is a clinically-validated medical AI platform developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield, designed to streamline the screening process for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The system utilizes a virtual agent to conduct a standardized interview, capturing audio data that is subsequently analyzed using advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) and acoustic signal processing. Unlike traditional pen-and-paper tests like the MMSE or MoCA, CognoSpeak provides a non-invasive, objective analysis of linguistic markers, syntax complexity, and paralinguistic features such as hesitation and pitch variation. In the 2026 market landscape, CognoSpeak serves as a critical triage tool for primary care physicians, significantly reducing the bottleneck in neurology clinics by identifying high-risk patients who require specialist intervention. The technical architecture is built on proprietary machine learning models trained on extensive clinical datasets, ensuring high sensitivity and specificity in detecting early cognitive decline. It integrates into healthcare workflows via FHIR-compliant APIs, making it a scalable solution for population-level cognitive health monitoring.