Healthy Brains icon

Healthy Brains

Cleveland Clinic
Evidence Tier:DOCUMENTED

Published in academic literature

For:General Public & EnthusiastsPatients & Caregivers
Free
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App Summary

Healthy Brains provides a personal Brain Health Index (BHI) to assess cognitive health and help stratify an individual's risk for neurodegenerative disease. A validation study (N=469) of the underlying BHI demonstrated strong correlations with established cognitive and functional measures, resulting in a 16-fold increase in identifying individuals likely to have cognitive impairment. The associated research concludes that the BHI is a validated metric for risk stratification, and a low score warrants further formal assessment by a medical provider.

App Screenshots

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Detailed Description

Functionality & Mechanism

The Healthy Brains app generates a Brain Health Index (BHI), a unified metric for assessing cognitive health and risk. The system integrates user input on vulnerability and resilience factors with performance on a brief cognitive assessment (Number Symbol Coding Task). This process produces a BHI score, which facilitates longitudinal tracking of brain health. The interface is designed for repeated self-assessment to monitor changes and understand the potential impact of lifestyle modifications on cognitive status.

Evidence & Research Context

The Brain Health Index (BHI) metric utilized by the app was validated in research involving 469 participants across a cognitive spectrum (cognitively normal, MCI, and ADRD).

  • The BHI demonstrated strong correlations with established clinical measures for cognitive (MoCA, r²=0.408) and functional (FAQ, r²=0.278) status.
  • Threshold analysis revealed that 89.2% of participants with a low BHI score had existing cognitive impairment.
  • The metric was associated with a 16-fold increase in identifying individuals likely to have cognitive impairment.
  • The index also showed significant correlations with neurodegenerative biomarkers, including neurofilament light chain (NfL).

Intended Use & Scope

This tool is intended for the general public for self-assessment and longitudinal monitoring of cognitive health status. Its primary utility is preliminary risk stratification based on the BHI score. The app does not provide a clinical diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease and is not a substitute for professional medical evaluation. Users should consult a healthcare provider to interpret results and address concerns.

Studies & Publications

1 publication

Peer-reviewed research associated with this app.

Development/Design Paper

The Brain Health Index: Integrating vulnerability, resilience, and cognitive function into a unified measure of cognitive health and risk of neurodegenerative disease

Kleiman et al. (2025) · Alzheimer's & Dementia

Describes the research-driven development of this app
INTRODUCTION Assessing brain health and identifying cognitive impairment risk remains challenging, with only 11.4% of MCI cases receiving timely diagnoses. We developed the Brain Health Index (BHI), integrating the Vulnerability Index, Resilience Index, and Number Symbol Coding Task into a unified metric. METHODS We evaluated 469 participants (258 congnitively normal [CN], 140 mild cognitive impairment [MCI], 49 Alzheimer's disease and related
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In the Media

The 6 Pillars of Brain Health

Cleveland Clinic developed Healthy Brains to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, using their scientifically demonstrated "Six Pillars of Brain Health" framework. Psychiatrist Dylan Wint, MD emphasizes that "you can influence this," noting that daily decisions can have an enormous impact on brain health and protect against cognitive decline. The approach recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly, as research shows regular physical activity can reduce dementia risk and slow cognitive decline progression.

HealthybrainsRead article

Las Vegas-originated website tests your brain health

The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas developed HealthyBrains.org to help users test their brain health through prevention-focused assessment, providing scores from zero to 100 based on six pillars of brain health. "We are focusing on prevention, not treatment," said Dr. Kate Zhong, senior director of clinical research and development at the Ruvo center. The Caesars Foundation funded the initiative with $200,000 for this year and a proposed $200,000 for 2016-17.

ReviewjournalRead article

Healthy Brains

Free

iOS