EarliPoint (Autism Diagnostic System)

2023: Product Announcement

In early August 2023, the American company EarliTec Dx announced the EarliPoint system for the early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Tom Ressemann, CEO of EarliTec Dx, notes that ASD is the most common complex neurodevelopmental disorder in children. According to statistics, this disease affects one out of 36 children, and approximately 95 thousand children with autism are born annually. However, the appropriate diagnosis is usually made only by the age of 4-5, which is partly due to the lack of quantitative tools that can help clinicians in determining ASD.

EarliTec Dx Announces EarliPoint System for Early ASD Diagnosis

To diagnose ASD, health care providers rely on subjective methods such as parent questionnaires and observing a child's social interaction and communication skills, says Ressemann.

But because ASD is a genetically driven disease, its manifestation varies widely in all people, making it difficult to diagnose with subjective tools. Meanwhile, the lack of necessary treatment early (up to three years) reduces the likelihood that patients will be able to live a full life in the long term. EarliPoint is designed to solve the problem.

The EarliPoint complex includes a tablet and special eye tracking technology. The child is shown video materials demonstrating social interactions, and the camera at high speed (120 focuses per second) collects information about what exactly the small user is looking at. The fact is, children with autism will be less likely to watch people - focusing on objects instead. The information collected in this way helps in making a diagnosis at an early stage - at the age of 16 to 30 months.^[1]

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