Assessment of Aphasia in a Virtual Environment: Using the Brief MTL-BR Battery

• Grant number: 24/05289-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Speech Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Karin Zazo Ortiz
• Grantee: Ana Heloísa Marcondes Cascino Cunha
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Aphasia is a language disorder caused by a brain insult and the most common cause are strokes. For the early diagnosis of aphasia, the Brief Montreal-Toulouse Language Assessment Battery (Brief MTL-BR Battery) was previously created as a language assessment tool for use in rapid procedures, in and out of hospital. The increase in telehealth language therapy has brought the realization that there is no validated online speech assessment tool for aphasia, so the Brief MTL-BR Battery becomes a potential tool for online application that can enable early diagnosis of aphasia. Thus, the aim of this study is to adapt the instructions, materials and procedures of the Brief MTL-BR Battery for it's application in a virtual environment and also to verify if these two versions (face-to-face and online) are clinically equivalent. Sixty individuals will be assessed in two groups: a group of 30 people with aphasia (GPA) and a control group (CG) with 30 neurotypical adults. Each individual will be assessed with the Brief MTL-BR Battery in person and virtually, with a minimum interval of two weeks between the two applications. For the online assessment, the examiner and the participant must have a computer with a microphone, webcam and sound output enabled and activated throughout the application. For the data analysis, the results of all the tasks of the individuals assessed in the two types of application will be compared and the relevant statistical tests will be presented.