The MRAB

Criteria's test portfolio includes some of the most innovative assessment tools in the world. One example of our proprietary testing IP is the MRAB, a unique battery of tests created by a research team led by Dr. Stephen Kosslyn, Chair of the Psychology Department at Harvard University (and a member of Criteria's Scientific Advisory Board).

The story of the "MRAB"

The MRAB, or MiniCog Rapid Assessment Battery, is a series of nine short tests that measure a person's "information processing" functions. Funded by NASA, Dr. Kosslyn's team originally designed the tests to measure the effects of prolonged space travel on astronauts' cognitive functions. If an astronaut's MRAB score was far below normal on a given day, for example, then maybe someone else should be operating the space shuttle. When not on pilot duty, the astronauts easily accessed the MRAB — which Dr. Kosslyn's team had installed on Palm Pilots for portability. MRAB-equipped Palm Pilots have even been taken up Mt. Everest by a team of climbers, who used the test to measure the effects of extreme altitude on their cognitive functions.

The MRAB has been patented by Harvard University, and Criteria holds an exclusive license for the commercial rights to the test. But why should Criteria's customers care about a test that was designed to measure the cognitive performance of astronauts and mountain climbers?