A groundbreaking new study from the Neuroscape Research Center at UCSF, and consumer electronics giant Samsung, seeks to understand decade-to-decade changes in brain health.
The Neuroscape Technology for Aging Health – Digital Approaches (TAH-DA) longitudinal study seeks to identify biometric predictors of cognitive decline over one year using Samsung wearable technology.
Samsung promotes innovation and transformative health research in collaboration with leading institutions to explore new health technologies and a new recipe for wellness. The TAH-DA study is another example of Samsung’s work to understand the unique connection between the brain and well-being.
The study is part of Samsung’s Open Innovation Initiative, a strategic program designed to accelerate innovation by partnering with leading universities, hospitals, research institutions and startups to support the development of next-generation digital health solutions to improve healthcare, deepen our understanding of the mind-body connection, maximize the wellness potential of cutting-edge technologies, and support the development personal devices.
The TAH-DA study began recruiting participants from across North America in early 2026, with the goal of enrolling 200 adults from each decade of life between the ages of 40 and 89. After enrolling in the study, participants receive a Samsung Galaxy Watch to record a series of health measurements during the day and night for a year. cognitive control abilities.
Galaxy Watch measures a comprehensive set of health metrics, including heart rate, ECG (electrocardiogram), blood pressure, blood oxygen levels and body composition (BIA). It also offers sleep and skin temperature tracking, as well as daily activity tracking such as step counts. This data will be used to develop unique insights and algorithms that can be deployed to monitor and predict changes in brain health over time. In addition, participants will participate in a series of surveys, digital cognitive assessments and digital interventions developed by Neuroscape on a Samsung tablet.
With this rich data set, we will be able to determine which passive, biometric measures are associated with cognitive assessments, as well as test the effects of evidence-based digital interventions to enhance cognitive function in adults across the lifespan. In contrast to traditional neuroscience studies, which often use highly controlled, simplified stimuli and static laboratory environments, modern approaches study human cognition in real-world settings and in real-time.”
Joaquin A. Anguera of Neuroscape
Mobile phones and wearables have become indispensable in everyday life, capturing detailed information about user habits and behaviors. Device data captures subtle routine changes with remarkably high sensitivity. Recognizing this potential, Samsung and UCSF researchers hope to develop digital biomarker technology designed to support the monitoring of changes in cognitive function through this collaboration.
“We are excited to partner with Samsung on this research project, which combines wearable and tablet technology with our software to study real-world cognition,” says Adam Gazzaley, executive director of Neuroscape. “This academic-industry collaboration is leading the most ambitious technologically remote trial we have ever attempted and will provide a unique perspective on human aging.”
How the study will work
The remote study will use the Neuroscape-developed clinical trial platform, Nexus, which enables electronic development of all study-related activities, including enrollment, consent, diagnostic assessments and digital interventions. The project will also include partnerships with Helpsquad (giving participants access to both an AI chatbot and a virtual assistant) and didit.me to help with identity verification during the registration process.
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Interested participants register at the study website: neuroscape.ucsf.edu/tahda-study.
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Once enrolled, researchers will randomly assign participants to either an intervention or control group and send each participant a Galaxy Watch and a Galaxy A9 Tab.
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Once received, the tablet-based assessments and intervention phase will begin. During this phase, participants should engage in cognitively challenging games designed and developed at Neuroscape, which have already shown positive influences on cognitive abilities that decline with age.
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Participants will also complete a set of customized digital cognitive assessments at three time points: before the study, after completion of the intervention, and 9 months later.
“We are pleased to have Neuroscape’s digital interventions combined with our technology to enhance the digital health ecosystem and create new approaches to well-being,” says Praveen Raja, Vice President of Digital Health Samsung Research America. “Using biometric data from our Galaxy Watch, we are excited to support the identification of behavioral and physiological predictors of cognitive decline while looking toward digital interventions to improve cognitive function.”
“With this new study, we hope to raise the bar for distance testing,” says Neuroscape’s Theodore Zanto. “Building on our previous work, we continue to push the boundaries of neurotechnology, seeking to create neuroscience-based predictors across the adult lifespan, as well as new digital therapies.”
