Braingaze launches BGaze Light, a computer programme that uses artificial intelligence techniques to improve the diagnosis of ADHD
Braingaze, a spin-off of the University of Barcelona, has launched a new tool to facilitate the diagnosis of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). BGaze Light is a computer programme that allows a complete ADHD diagnosis protocol to be executed in a very efficient and convenient way, including the standard elements for an adequate evaluation: observation, conversations and interviews with patients and relatives, as well as different attention tests. This new digital application uses advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to interpret all these data, which facilitates both the understanding of the information collected by professionals and the accuracy in the diagnosis of this psychiatric disorder that affects between 6% and 7% of children worldwide.
“Artificial intelligence allows professionals to make better decisions because it interprets the whole dataset at once, and learns from the cases of thousands of patients in an automated way. While the guidelines for interpreting data included in manuals such as the DSM-5 (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) or the ICD-10 (the WHO handbook of diagnostic criteria) basically add up the symptoms perceived in different situations, artificial intelligence is able to use details such as the combination of symptoms, data captured during attention tests, age and other patient data,” explains Laszlo Bax, director and co-founder of Braingaze along with Hans Supèr, ICREA professor of the Department of Psychology at the UB.
Interviews and Video Games
Making an accurate and objective diagnosis of ADHD that convinces both the patient and, in the case of children, their parents is not an easy task, and requires a very careful collection and analysis of the different indicators. BGaze Light securely centralizes all this information using semi-structured ACE interviews, which are a diagnostic screening tool for ADHD in children aged 5 to 16 developed by Susan Young. Dr. Young, a specialist with over thirty years of clinical and scientific experience in this field, is also the president of the UK ADHD Association and a consultant to Braingaze.
“These interviews provide guidance for professionals in diagnostic examination to assess key symptoms (lack of attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity) and the extent of the problems these entail both at home and at school. The new programme facilitates this data collection process, as it allows interviewees to answer questions while collecting all the information automatically and complying with all safety standards,” points out Laszlo Bax.
BGaze Light also includes a Posner type continuous performance test (CPT) in the form of a video game. This is a test widely used in clinical practice, and especially in the field of ADHD research, to assess selective attention, sustained attention, and impulsivity in children from the age of 6. Since it is a computerized test in the form of a computer game, it is easier to use with children. In addition, the quantification of results —such as response time, frequency, and type of errors— is done immediately and accurately.
Diagnosing ADHD through eye movements
The BGaze Light system, which is now available in Spanish and English throughout the European Union, can be upgraded to a BGaze Clinic system at any time. BGaze Clinic, developed by researchers at the University of Barcelona after over twenty years of research into the neurocognitive system, is already in operation in more than twenty clinics across Spain. It uses an ocular tracker to capture some ocular micromovements, known as cognitive vergence, which have been clinically validated as ADHD biomarkers.
This test, which has an accuracy of 92% in the diagnosis of children between 7 and 14 years old, can be incorporated into BGaze Light by adding a specific device that captures the patient’s involuntary ocular micromovements while playing video games, thus providing the diagnosis of ADHD with an additional neurobiological perspective.
Braingaze is also currently in the process of clinical validation of solutions for the treatment of other cognitive and attention disorders through video games. In addition, it is validating diagnostic solutions for autism, depression, and early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.