NEW YORK: Millions of potential Alzheimer's sufferers have a chance to slow the diseases advance with the development of a new device that allows an inexpensive and easy-to-administer test to detect the cognitive decline associated with its early stages.

The device, developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, expected to be commercialised later this year, may allow patients to take a brief, inexpensive test as part of a routine yearly check-up to detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI) often the earliest stage of Alzheimer's.

More than 24 million people worldwide are currently thought to have Alzheimer's disease and by 2040, an estimated 81 million people worldwide are expected to develop the disease.

"Families usually wait until their mom or dad does something somewhat dangerous, like forgetting to take their medications or getting lost, before bringing them in for testing. At that point, the patient has already lost a significant portion of their cognitive function," said David Wright, who helped develop the device.

Current assessment tests capable of detecting early Alzheimer's typically are taken with a pen and paper or at a computer terminal and last about an hour and a half. They must be given by a trained technician in a quiet environment, because any distractions can influence the patients score and reduce the tests effectiveness.

"With this device, we might be able to pick up impairment well before those serious symptoms occur and start patients on medications that could delay those symptoms," Wright said.

The Georgia Tech and Emory device, called DETECT, gives individuals a roughly ten-minute test designed to gauge reaction time and memory functions that, when impaired, are associated with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.