Sept 19, 2023, 11 Live TV, Atlanta: New autism diagnostic tool captures data within minutes at Atlanta center https://www.11alive.com/video/news/health/new-autism-diagnostic-tool-captures-data-within-minutes-at-atlanta-center/85-89a1f4a5-0b59-4d4a-9d59-bd9dfdf070ab
VIDEO: Major news of a new eye tracking tool which can help diagnose autism more quickly and accurately grabbed headlines across the U.S.
One in 36 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder according to the CDC.
Simply put, that means a child’s brain works a little differently and impacts how they relate to the world.
Yesterday we brought you this story of how early diagnosis can mean life changing support for families. And today Lisa Lucas is here after seeing this new tool in person….
Lisa Lucas: This is such cool technology. Think about how hard it is to get a toddler to sit down for any length of time. They consider holding their attention for hours of testing and that’s normally what’s required for an autism evaluation and why it’s a big deal that this eye tracking tool captures critical data in minutes.
Doctors at Marcus Autism Center here in Atlanta hope they’ll be able to see twice the number of kids with that time saved.
Here’s closer look at the early point tool which is approved for kids between 16 and 30 months of age.
Toddlers watch a series of videos as clinicians monitor their eyes at a rate of 120 times a second.
The technology captures how a child’s behavior compares to typical milestones and the process takes under 12 minutes.
The hope is this toll can help specialists keep up with the demand.
“Our hope is to get kids in faster, right? We don’t want any child to wait for diagnostic services, and using technology such as this can hopefully bring kids in faster, cut down on some of the time and expertise needed.”
Anchor: So what’s it going to take to get this technology to reach more families
Lucas: Well, this is stilla rolling process right now.
There are two devices at Marcus Autism Center, so that’s expected to help with some of the wait list families experience. But when we talk about seeing this more commonplace, there are still hurdles we have to cross like getting this covered by insurance, training. The device right now only approved for English…
And the tool’s really intended to be used in specialty clinics right now. …
At this point it’s not ready to be a screener tool at your pediatrician’s office.
But if that happens, and that could be the goal down the road, doctors say that could be a game changer. ..
Comments