Robotic technology provides objective and quantifiable metrics of neurocognitive functioning in survivors of critical illness:A feasibility study

To assess the feasibility of using an integrated multimodal data collection strategy to characterize the post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). Adult patients admitted to the ICU requiring invasive mechanical ventilation for >24 h and/or requiring vasopressor support were eligible for enrollment. We assessed cognitive and sensorimotor function at 3- and 12-months after ICU discharge with the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and with the KINARM robot. At 3- and 12-months after ICU discharge, 28/70 (40%) and 22/70 (31%) returned for follow-up testing, respectively. Prominent reasons for declining testing at 3- and 12-months included: not interested (40% and 38%) and health complications (31% and 31%). The majority of returning participants completed all tasks (96%–100%) and 100% of available data was recorded. On the RBANS, 54% (3 months) and 32% (12 months) of individuals were impaired in visuospatial/constructional skills. Similarly, the KINARM assessments demonstrated that 56% of individuals had visuospatial/executive dysfunction at 3 months, and 40% had impairment at 12 months. Individual scores indicated substantial variability. We demonstrated that it was feasible to quantify neurological dysfunction among participants that returned for follow-up testing. However, future investigations will need to implement multiple retention strategies. This trial is registered on clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02344043), retrospectively registered January 8, 2015. •ICU survivors are challenging to recruit for follow up studies as they were often disinterested or too ill to return for testing.•Of those that did return, the majority completed all tasks, and our multimodal robotic platform captured all data.•Many ICU survivors have visuospatial and executive dysfunction, even in a highly selected cohort that was well enough to participate in follow up