New platform of autism diagnostics

Today at World Autism Awareness Day we are immensely excited to announce our new collaboration with Pär Nyström, Associate Professor, at Psychology Department of Uppsala University and his team. Together we shall develop, validate, and commercialize a novel approach to autism diagnosis, based on eye tracking.

Ass. Prof. Nyström is a prominent researcher with a long-term track record of research on child autism and eye responses. The purpose of this research is to identify new ways to provide objective, accurate and rapid decision support for doctors. The unmet need within this field is huge and Stardots are committed to contribute to the solution for a better care for individuals with autism, and we are aiming for the US market with FDA 510(k) clearance.

Stardots has extensive experience with software-as-medical-devices as the result of the development of our ANLIVA® platform for Parkinson´s disease including eye tracker-based solutions. From the ground up we have built a general purpose, scalable and flexible IT infrastructure with development processes suitable for medical devices centered around advanced mathematical modelling of sensor data. To extend our platform portfolio with another product involving a similar solution as ANLIVA® means a lot of synergy effects and minimal resource diffusion.

In addition, a pilot study focusing on Autism is already started at Uppsala University, Department of Psychology!

In the United States, waiting times for autism diagnostic evaluations have also been a significant concern. Here’s what we know:

US Specialty Centers Survey

A recent survey of autism specialty centers in the U.S. revealed that nearly two-thirds of these centers reported wait times of over 4 months between the initial request for an autism evaluation and the actual diagnostic assessment [ref].
These extended wait times can cause distress for patients, families, and caregivers, and are considered hugely unsatisfactory by professionals [ref]

Average Age of Diagnosis

Despite the possibility of reliable autism diagnosis as early as 18 months, the average age of diagnosis in the U.S. still remains above four years.
Specialists typically conduct the majority of autism evaluations, but workforce shortages and the rising prevalence of autism among 8-year-olds (now estimated at 1 in 36) contribute to delays [ref].

Barriers and Urgent Need

The data underscores the waitlist crisis for autism evaluations, emphasizing the need for timely diagnosis and treatment initiation.
Insights into current autism specialty center wait times and processes can guide future healthcare resources and inform policies to reduce barriers to timely assessments [ref].
Efforts to address these delays are crucial to ensure early intervention and improved long-term outcomes for individuals with autism.

Stay tuned for more info regarding this project soon.