Differential Digital Biomarker for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease
Advantages
- Non-invasive: Digital assessment, avoiding CSF extraction, or costly imaging.
- Early detection: Identifies AD-related profiles before symptoms appear.
- Scalable, accessible, repeatable: Enables low-cost screening in primary care or at home and longitudinal follow-up without repeated invasive procedures.
Goal
The research group holds a patent and is seeking clinical and technology partners, as well as licensing opportunities, to bring this digital diagnostic tool to market.
Patent
Patent Priority date: April 2026
Reference
UBTT0539
Contact
Dr. Sancho Moro
Email: smoro@fbg.ub.edu
Differential Digital Biomarker for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease
Executive summary
A computer-implemented solution developed by the UB that uses binocular eye-tracking and pupillometry to identify signs of early Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) linked to neurodegenerationassociated protein biomarkers and offers an early intervention approach to reduce taupathology and improve cognition. It provides a non-invasive and accessible platform for early diagnosis, monitoring, and intervention.
Introduction
AD is the leading cause of dementia, accounting for 60–80% of cases. The condition is biologically defined by amyloid-β and tau accumulation (A+T+) with neurodegeneration under the AT(N) framework. The locus coeruleus (LC), affected early by tau pathology, regulates attention, arousal, pupil size, and eye movements. Current diagnostic methods, such as PET and CSF analysis, are accurate but invasive, costly, and difficult to scale.
Description
UB researchers have identified distinct oculomotor and pupillary patterns in individuals with a biomarker-positive profile for AD, proposing their use as non-invasive marker of LC-mediated attentional integrity and intervention response. The technology consists of a digital eye-tracking software that offers a non-invasive early AD assessment. The program analyses binocular eye movements, cognitive vergence, and pupil responses during visual tasks to estimate AT(N)related neurodegenerative profiles. Aditionally, a digital intervention is proposed through interactive tasks, using 40 Hz visual stimulation, targeting the LC to reduce tau pathology and improve cognitive performance, within a critical therapeutic window.
Current stage of development
A functional prototype has been developed, demonstrating technical feasibility and initial usability in older adults. The next step is to optimize the algorithm and prepare the system for clinical validation. Remaining work includes improving the algorithm’s robustness with additional data, and further refining usability to ensure adoption in real-world settings.