Seniors & 65+ BrainGuide

This first of its kind resource includes a confidential memory questionnaire – taken over the phone or online in English or Spanish – followed by tailored education and resources based on the answers provided. The memory questionnaire can be self-administered or taken by a caregiver. BrainGuide is not intended to diagnose or make treatment recommendations regarding Alzheimer’s or any other disease.

BrainGuide was created by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s based on input from medical experts with in-kind and financial support from Biogen. The platform runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS), using state-of-the-art technologies to power the memory questionnaire capability and make it available to anyone with a telephone or Internet access.

“People can do so much more to protect and improve brain health, and BrainGuide can be the right platform at the right time for adults of all ages,” said George Vradenburg, chairman and co-founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. “Whether you are proactively working to improve your brain health, concerned about your memory, seeking more information after receiving a diagnosis or are caring for a loved one living with Alzheimer’s – BrainGuide offers relevant insight and guidance.”

R. Doreen Monks, who is living with early onset Alzheimer’s disease, tried out BrainGuide and said: “BrainGuide is easy to use, science-based and hopeful. I can answer a few questions, and it helps me determine what my potential next steps will be. It has a lot of facts and information, but I’m not overwhelmed by it. As a nurse recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, BrainGuide reminds me of what my friend (a neurologist) did when she helped me understand I had a problem. And it can be used as a jumping off point for a physician visit.” 

More than 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s today, and many more have questions and concerns about brain health. Yet over 60 percent of dementia cases are not detected in the community and/or in residential nursing care, because people and families do not know where to turn or what resources are available to them.¹ Until now, many have struggled to find brain health or Alzheimer’s information tailored to their needs and have hesitated to raise the topic with their doctors.

“As people age and worry about their memory and brain health in general, it can be reassuring for them to have an easy-to-use tool in BrainGuide to help them gain insight into their symptoms so they can talk to their physician,” said Dr. Jill Goldstein, Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Executive Director of the Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

BrainGuide builds on key scientific advances in risk reduction, greater understanding of the importance of brain health, and growing public awareness of Alzheimer’s. Its memory questionnaires were developed based on validated questionnaires that have been adapted for the phone and the web.

BrainGuide is free and easy to access – in English and Spanish – online at www.mybrainguide.org and by phone at 855-BRAIN-411. The platform provides automated, confidential memory questionnaires that can be self-administered or taken as a caregiver. Once the questionnaire is complete, BrainGuide offers tailored resources based on the answers provided. Privacy is protected, and responses are not recorded or shared with anyone other than the individual completing the questionnaire.

“Tailored assessment and care of an individual’s health provide an immense benefit to patients everywhere. UsAgainstAlzheimer’s’ introduction of BrainGuide is a great example of how an organization can use AWS technologies to help personalize the patient health journey,” said Taha Kass-Hout, Director of Machine Learning at AWS. “We look forward to further supporting UsAgainstAlzheimer’s as it helps provide patients and their families the right information to help manage their care through technology.”