Necessity of technicians for computerized neuropsychological assessment devices in multiple sclerosis

Objective: Determine the influence of technician supervision on computer-administered cognitive tests in multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: Eighty MS patients underwent assessment using the CogState Brief Battery (CSBB) and the Cleveland Clinic Cognitive Battery (C3B). Each was administered twice, once with a technician guiding assessment, and once with technician-absent. Twenty-eight healthy controls were also evaluated. Results: The influence of technician guidance was not statistically significant for group means on either test. For CSBB, administration problems were more common in the technician-absent condition. Conclusion: In this MS sample, reliable and valid test results were obtained from computer-assisted cognitive testing without technician guidance.