Alzheimer Dementia (AD)VICANCT07779785
VICA: A Virtual Care Assistant for Dementia Caregivers
A study testing VICA - Virtual Informal Care Assistant and Education only BPSD mobile app in people with Alzheimer Dementia (AD) and Caregiver Burden of People With Dementia, run by Indiana University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluates the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of VICA, an AI-powered virtual care assistant that delivers evidence-based education, symptom monitoring, and coaching to informal caregivers of people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 21 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Alzheimer Dementia (AD), Caregiver Burden of People With Dementia
- What is being tested?
- VICA - Virtual Informal Care Assistant and Education only BPSD mobile app
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 120 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Nov 2026to 30 Jun 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 21 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Age ≥ 65 years
- Community-dwelling
- Diagnosed with ADRD
- Clinical notes indicate behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) Inclusion Criteria: Informal Caregiver
- Age ≥ 21 years
- Self-identified informal caregiver of a community-dwelling patient diagnosed with ADRD
Show all 9Show fewer
- Provides ≥ 10 hours/week of care to the patient with ADRD
- Regular access to a computer and/or smart device with internet
- English-literate; assessed as "adequate" on the Single Item Literacy Screener
Who cannot join
- Life expectancy less than 6 months
- Clinician-reported cognitive impairment
- Clinician-reported severe mental illness or substance use disorder
- Clinician-reported life expectancy of less than 6 months
- Unable to provide informed consent
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
About this study
Official title: Virtual Informal Care Assistant for Alzheimer'S-related Dementia (VICA): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluates the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of VICA, an AI-powered virtual care assistant that delivers evidence-based education, symptom monitoring, and coaching to informal caregivers of people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Sixty caregiver-patient dyads will be randomized 1:1 to VICA or an attention-control education app (Dementia Guide Expert) for 3 months. The study will assess recruitment, VICA acceptance/usability, and engagement (Aim 1), and estimate effect sizes for reducing patient behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and caregiver distress (Aim 2).
Read the detailed description
VICA is a customized large-language-model-driven avatar that provides speech-to-speech and text conversational support grounded in the ABC (Aging Brain Care) collaborative dementia care model and the HABC-Monitor assessment. Informal caregivers randomized to VICA are encouraged to use the platform 3 times per week for approximately 20 minutes over 3 months; control participants use the Dementia Guide Expert education-only app on the same schedule. Outcomes include trial feasibility metrics (recruitment, retention, VICA acceptance via TAM-PEOU, usability via SUS, usage/engagement) and preliminary effect-size estimates for the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) total score (patient BPSD), NPI-Distress score, PHQ-9 (caregiver depression), and GAD-7 (caregiver anxiety), collected at baseline and months 1, 2, and 3.
- Being tested
- VICA - Virtual Informal Care Assistant, Education only BPSD mobile app
- Keywords
- behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, conversational AI, avatar, informal caregiver, digital therapeutic, ABC collaborative dementia care model
- Medical subject headings
- Alzheimer Disease, Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
VICA - Virtual Informal Care AssistantDevice
An AI-powered avatar delivering conversational, speech-to-speech and text-based education, resource information, and symptom-monitoring support to informal caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), grounded in the ABC collaborative dementia care model via a retrieval-augmented generation system.
Education only BPSD mobile appDevice
Access to Dementia Guide Expert, an existing free, education-only BPSD mobile app (ENGAGE-IL initiative, University of Illinois at Chicago), used on the same 3x/week, ~20 minute schedule for 3 months. No interactive coaching, assessment, or personalized response.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental: VICA | Experimental | Access to the VICA AI-powered avatar platform for 3 months; caregivers encouraged to engage 3x/week for ~20 minutes per session. VICA delivers education, resource information, and symptom-monitoring (HABC-Monitor) grounded in the ABC collaborative dementia care model via a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system. Receives: Device: VICA - Virtual Informal Care Assistant |
| Active Comparator: Attention Control | Active comparator | Access to Dementia Guide Expert, an existing free, education-only BPSD mobile app (ENGAGE-IL initiative, University of Illinois at Chicago), used on the same 3x/week, ~20 minute schedule for 3 months. No interactive coaching, assessment, or personalized response. Receives: Device: Education only BPSD mobile app |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) total score
A 12-domain caregiver-informant-rated measure of patient behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Each domain is scored as frequency (1-4) times severity (1-3) if present, or 0 if absent. Domain scores are summed for a Total Score ranging 0-144; higher scores indicate more frequent and/or severe symptoms.
Measured: Baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months
Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Distress (NPI-D) Scale
Derived from the same 12-domain NPI interview. For each domain in which a symptom is present, the caregiver rates how emotionally distressing that behavior is to them, from 0 (not at all) to 5 (very severely). Ratings are summed across domains for a total score of 0-60; higher scores indicate greater caregiver distress.
Measured: Baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months
Assessment completion rate
Measured: Computed at 3 months
Recruitment rate
Recruitment rate computed monthly as # approached, # agreeing, and
# consenting, tracked continuously throughout the accrual period.
Measured: up to 15 months
Technology Acceptance Model-Perceived Ease of Use (TAM-PEOU)
A 6-item caregiver self-report measure of perceived ease of use, each item rated on a 7-point scale from Extremely Disagree to Extremely Agree. Item scores are summed for a total ranging 6-42; higher scores indicate greater perceived ease of use. Intervention-arm participants rate the VICA platform; control-arm participants rate the Dementia Guide Expert app, using parallel-worded versions of the same instrument.
Measured: Months 1, 2, 3
System Usability Scale (SUS)
A 10-item caregiver self-report measure of perceived usability, rated on a 5-point scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree, with alternating positively- and negatively-worded items. Using standard SUS scoring, item responses are converted and summed to a total ranging 0-100; higher scores indicate better usability. Intervention-arm participants rate the VICA platform; control-arm participants rate the Dementia Guide Expert app, using parallel-worded versions of the same instrument.
Measured: Months 1, 2, 3
VICA usage
Server-recorded log-ins, session progress/completion, and conversation content, collected from the VICA intervention arm only. Not applicable to the attention control arm, which does not use the VICA platform.
Measured: up to 12 weeks
Secondary outcomes (2)
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
A 9-item caregiver-reported measure of depressive symptom severity. Scored 0-27; higher scores indicate more severe depression.
Measured: Baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months
Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7)
A 7-item caregiver self-report measure of anxiety symptom severity, scored 0-3 per item and summed for a total ranging 0-21; higher scores indicate more severe anxiety.
Measured: Baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted21 Aug 2026
- Study start1 Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion30 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion30 Jun 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Alzheimer Dementia (AD)Studies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Indiana UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 120 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Indiana University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- University of Notre Dame
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, MALAZ BOUSTANI, Indiana University
- Investigators
- Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, Principal investigator, Indiana University School of Medicine, Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07779785
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- IRB28255
- Acronym
- VICA
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 12 Aug 2026
- Last updated
- 26 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- Yes
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 26 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Virtual Informal Care Assistant for Alzheimer'S-related Dementia (VICA): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07779785
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- VICA / IRB28255
- Keywords
- behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, conversational AI, avatar, informal caregiver, digital therapeutic, ABC collaborative dementia care model
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 120 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Indiana UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- University of Notre Dame
- Study start
- 1 Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 30 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 30 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 21 Aug 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluates the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of VICA, an AI-powered virtual care assistant that delivers evidence-based education, symptom monitoring, and coaching to informal caregivers of people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Sixty caregiver-patient dyads will be randomized 1:1 to VICA or an attention-control education app (Dementia Guide Expert) for 3 months. The study will assess recruitment, VICA acceptance/usability, and engagement (Aim 1), and estimate effect sizes for reducing patient behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and caregiver distress (Aim 2).
Detailed description
VICA is a customized large-language-model-driven avatar that provides speech-to-speech and text conversational support grounded in the ABC (Aging Brain Care) collaborative dementia care model and the HABC-Monitor assessment. Informal caregivers randomized to VICA are encouraged to use the platform 3 times per week for approximately 20 minutes over 3 months; control participants use the Dementia Guide Expert education-only app on the same schedule. Outcomes include trial feasibility metrics (recruitment, retention, VICA acceptance via TAM-PEOU, usability via SUS, usage/engagement) and preliminary effect-size estimates for the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) total score (patient BPSD), NPI-Distress score, PHQ-9 (caregiver depression), and GAD-7 (caregiver anxiety), collected at baseline and months 1, 2, and 3.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental: VICA | Experimental | Device: VICA - Virtual Informal Care AssistantAccess to the VICA AI-powered avatar platform for 3 months; caregivers encouraged to engage 3x/week for ~20 minutes per session. VICA delivers education, resource information, and symptom-monitoring (HABC-Monitor) grounded in the ABC collaborative dementia care model via a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system. |
| Active Comparator: Attention Control | Active comparator | Device: Education only BPSD mobile appAccess to Dementia Guide Expert, an existing free, education-only BPSD mobile app (ENGAGE-IL initiative, University of Illinois at Chicago), used on the same 3x/week, ~20 minute schedule for 3 months. No interactive coaching, assessment, or personalized response. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 21 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (9 listed)
- Age ≥ 65 years
- Community-dwelling
- Diagnosed with ADRD
- Clinical notes indicate behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) Inclusion Criteria: Informal Caregiver
- Age ≥ 21 years
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Life expectancy less than 6 months
- Clinician-reported cognitive impairment
- Clinician-reported severe mental illness or substance use disorder
- Clinician-reported life expectancy of less than 6 months
- Unable to provide informed consent
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| VICA - Virtual Informal Care AssistantAn AI-powered avatar delivering conversational, speech-to-speech and text-based education, resource information, and symptom-monitoring support to informal caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), grounded in the ABC collaborative dementia care model via a retrieval-augmented generation system. | Device | Experimental: VICA |
| Education only BPSD mobile appAccess to Dementia Guide Expert, an existing free, education-only BPSD mobile app (ENGAGE-IL initiative, University of Illinois at Chicago), used on the same 3x/week, ~20 minute schedule for 3 months. No interactive coaching, assessment, or personalized response. | Device | Active Comparator: Attention Control |
Primary outcome
Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) total score
Time frame: Baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months
A 12-domain caregiver-informant-rated measure of patient behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Each domain is scored as frequency (1-4) times severity (1-3) if present, or 0 if absent. Domain scores are summed for a Total Score ranging 0-144; higher scores indicate more frequent and/or severe symptoms.
Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Distress (NPI-D) Scale
Time frame: Baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months
Derived from the same 12-domain NPI interview. For each domain in which a symptom is present, the caregiver rates how emotionally distressing that behavior is to them, from 0 (not at all) to 5 (very severely). Ratings are summed across domains for a total score of 0-60; higher scores indicate greater caregiver distress.
Assessment completion rate
Time frame: Computed at 3 months
Recruitment rate
Time frame: up to 15 months
Recruitment rate computed monthly as # approached, # agreeing, and # consenting, tracked continuously throughout the accrual period.
Technology Acceptance Model-Perceived Ease of Use (TAM-PEOU)
Time frame: Months 1, 2, 3
A 6-item caregiver self-report measure of perceived ease of use, each item rated on a 7-point scale from Extremely Disagree to Extremely Agree. Item scores are summed for a total ranging 6-42; higher scores indicate greater perceived ease of use. Intervention-arm participants rate the VICA platform; control-arm participants rate the Dementia Guide Expert app, using parallel-worded versions of the same instrument.
System Usability Scale (SUS)
Time frame: Months 1, 2, 3
A 10-item caregiver self-report measure of perceived usability, rated on a 5-point scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree, with alternating positively- and negatively-worded items. Using standard SUS scoring, item responses are converted and summed to a total ranging 0-100; higher scores indicate better usability. Intervention-arm participants rate the VICA platform; control-arm participants rate the Dementia Guide Expert app, using parallel-worded versions of the same instrument.
VICA usage
Time frame: up to 12 weeks
Server-recorded log-ins, session progress/completion, and conversation content, collected from the VICA intervention arm only. Not applicable to the attention control arm, which does not use the VICA platform.
2 secondary outcomes
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Time frame: Baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months
Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7)
Time frame: Baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 26 Oct 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
Related trials for Alzheimer Dementia (AD)
RecruitingObservational study
Effectiveness and Safety of Disease-Modifying Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease: A Multicenter Retrospective Study
Alzheimer's Disease (AD)
Active, not recruitingPhase 2
A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Biomarker Effects of RO7269162 in Participants at Risk for or at the Prodromal Stage of Alzheimer's Disease (AD)
Alzheimer's Disease
RecruitingPhase 1
PET Imaging of Phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) in Volunteers With Alzheimer Disease (AD) or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
Alzheimer s Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment
RecruitingObservational study
Community-based Screening for Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease(AD), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
RecruitingObservational study
InRAD Observational Study
Alzheimer's Disease(AD), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH principal investigator
Indiana University School of Medicine, Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing VICA - Virtual Informal Care Assistant and Education only BPSD mobile app in people with Alzheimer Dementia (AD) and Caregiver Burden of People With Dementia, run by Indiana University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 9 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 26 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) total score (time frame: Baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months). The study lists 7 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 26 Oct 2026.