Mindr, a Digital Diagnosis and Prevention Platform, Humanizes Dementia Care at Scale
Co-founders Dr. Inna Marquard and Adam Schultz are leading a team digitizing and streamlining the seminal FINGER study, which proved that if people target five areas of their health — train their brains, move their bodies, manage vascular health, eat better, and engage in social activities — they can decrease the risk of dementia and slow the progression of cognitive impairment disorders by up to 40%.
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The Challenge
“By the time patients come to me, it’s already an established problem. They are too scared to bring it up earlier because they don’t think there’s anything they can do.”
Inna Marquard, MD, is talking about patient attitudes towards cognitive decline and dementia. Over her years as a practicing physician focused on geriatric care and rehabilitation, she saw the same thing again and again — patients unwilling to mention some of their early signs of reduced cognitive functioning because they thought there was nothing they could do. And that was terrifying.
These fears aren’t unfounded. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. It is the sixth most deadly disease in the United States, and since the number of people in the US over 65 is set to double over the next 40 years, cases will only grow. Despite its prevalence, however, 40% of US physicians don’t feel comfortable diagnosing dementia, and 55% percent felt like there are not enough dementia care specialists in their communities to meet demand.
Between the patients’ hesitancy to share indicators and the physicians’ uncertainty in diagnosis, it’s little wonder that a dementia diagnosis typically comes a full 18 years after symptoms start to appear. 18 years of possible intervention time lost. 18 years living in fear and worry. 18 years that could have been used to slow or even stop the progression of cognitive decline.
Origin Story: You Can Actually Do Something
“With every other disease, it’s screen, screen, screen, prevent, prevent, prevent, but that story isn’t happening with Alzheimer’s and dementia, even though we now know there are things you can do. Dementia is not a wait and be helpless situation.”
That’s Adam Schultz talking, co-founder of Mindr with Dr. Marquard and Tim Ottenbreit. He joined the Mindr team to help its users implement the findings of the FINGER Trial, a landmark study out of Finland in 2013, that proved the effectiveness of a multi-pronged intervention to prevent cognitive decline. Specifically, the study showed that if people do these five things as they age — train their brains, move their bodies, manage vascular health, eat better, and engage in social activities — they can decrease the risk of dementia and slow the progression of cognitive impairment disorders. The Lancet estimates that this could be true for up to 40% of cases.
40% is a huge number. If this was a study that found a 40% reduction in breast cancer or diabetes cases, it would be shouted from the rooftops. Instead, ten years after the initial findings of the study, which have been corroborated in ongoing trials, few physicians either know about it or bring it up with their patients. Part of the problem is the results didn’t feel actionable. There simply aren’t enough specialists to meet the demand, and the comprehensive lifestyle program as recommended by the study is believed to be an enormous (and expensive) undertaking.
Under the Hood
Enter Mindr, a digital diagnosis and prevention platform for people at risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. What the Mindr team did was digitize the interventions proven in the FINGER study so that they became scalable and accessible, available affordably to as many people as possible. Their mission is to democratize access to screening, diagnosis, and these proven treatments.
The key to their program is delivering digital coaching and accountability in a way that helps people actually reach their goals. It’s not easy for anyone to shift exercise, diet, and social habits, let alone an older adult for whom these patterns are more ingrained. That’s where Schultz’s experience comes in. Before Mindr, he created another app for teaching corporate skills — different clients, but same focus on learning and practicing new ways of being.
“You need to tap into people’s intrinsic motivation to change. Figure out why making a shift is important to them and you can access that motivation and remind them of it when things get hard.”
How does this look practically in the Mindr app? The user experience starts with a digital assessment, covering their user’s cognitive and physical health, interests, relevant family information, plus a motivational interview to find out their concerns, goals, and reasons for using the platform. An important part of this process is asking them to sign a contract and make a commitment to an actual human, a certified health coach who walks them through making small changes along the way that lead to bigger lifestyle change.
“The human part is important. The program is 95% digitized, making it very scalable, but the 5% that’s human makes the impact, so that it’s both wildly scalable and widely effective.”
A 90-day pilot study proved that effectiveness. 71% of participants saw an improvement in their memory, with a 50% uptick in remembering recent conversations and 43% reporting fewer lost objects. The number of days of limited activity decreased from 10 monthly to 3.5 at day 90. Even in its pilot form, Mindr was able to do what it set out to do — take the findings of the FINGER Trial and make them accessible and actionable to anyone, anywhere.
Where Do They Go From Here
The Mindr team is currently focused on building and testing their platform before their public launch. That includes establishing a comprehensive network of providers in all 50 states for telemedicine visits and physician-led testing and diagnosis, already well on its way thanks to a strategic partnership with MD Integrations, a white-label telemedicine platform. They’ve additionally partnered with Cytox for genetic risk assessment and Labcorp for further patient testing and monitoring. If you believe Mindr would be a good fit for you or someone you love, you can sign up for the beta program at mindr.us.
With between 60–80 million Americans in their target market — anyone with risk factors for cognitive impairment, including family members with dementia or experiencing early symptoms — and that number projected to rise 37% over just the next seven years, there is a giant opportunity for growth, especially given the lack of currently available scalable solutions. As they go to market, Mindr has its eye on VBID (Value Based Insurance Design) contracts since their product can deliver results at a fraction of the cost of the memory clinic model, which they feel would be particularly interesting to Medicare Advantage plans.
It’s that opportunity for impact driving the team forward, and not just for the impact they can have on their users’ quality of life. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other cognitive performance issues affect the lives of entire families, as adult children, partners, and spouses work to care for their loved one. For instance, just a year into getting involved with Mindr, Schultz’s mother experienced temporary cognitive impairment related to high blood pressure.
“I knew she was aging, and I knew that what we were building might matter to me someday, but my work with Mindr helped me see exactly what I needed to do for her and what tools she needed to stay healthy, even while I managed her care from three states away.”
Our Take
Mindr takes on a huge potential market experiencing significant pain points and provides a scalable option that is still deeply human. We think the health coach aspect of their platform is key to keeping users motivated; it’s the right amount of connection with an actual person to achieve results. And with an experienced team and a detailed go-to-market strategy, we see Mindr as a company able to hit the ground running once they have their funding in place. We are thrilled to welcome them to StartUp Health and have a front row seat as they tackle dementia diagnosis and treatment.
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Published: Dec 7, 2023