Advanced Eye Gaze Detection System poised to change future of Autism diagnosis
PRINCETON, N.J., March 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — IP Shakti, LLC is pleased to announce a partnership with Shizuoka University, of Hamamatsu, Japan, to commercialize a system for autism detection in young infants. A recent NIH study has shown that small fluctuations in eye movement, as small as 25-50 milliseconds, is a symptom of autism in infants as young as seven months.
The Autism Eye Gaze Detection System has been specifically designed to address the challenges of working with infants for early diagnosis. The current average age of diagnosis for autism is 4.5 years, which is past the age where behavioral therapy would be of the greatest benefit. The rate of children born with autism is rising at an alarming rate, as 1 in every 88 children born in the United States is predicted to have some amount of autism.
The system was invented by Professor Yoshinobu Ebisawa at Shizuoka University in Japan. Previous technologies for eye-tracking required minimal head movement and a calibration stage requiring a patient to look at multiple points. Based on the improbability of an infant having that type of focus, Prof. Ebisawa developed a system and software specialized for screening infants for autism that requires only a one-point calibration measurement. No other system on the market has this simple, rapid one point of gaze format.
Prof. Ebisawa developed a system that observed the movements of the infant's eyes as they focused on an image of the mother's eyes or mouth. By using cameras and infra-red light sources to track movement of the infant's pupils, the system can estimate the likelihood of autism. Ebisawa adds, "After more than 10 years of research, I'm truly happy to see my patented technology developed to improve the lives of children."
Dr. Dipanjan Nag, President & CEO of IP Shakti, is focused on this problem. "Autism is not well understood, so it has not been detected very efficiently. Today millions of kids are affected by the disease, but unfortunately, we have not been able to bring a simple solution to the market. Most of the gene based detection systems have only provided a partial solution. IP Shakti is committed to the simple yet elegant detection system based on the behavioral aspects of autism."
About Shizuoka University: Established in 1949, Shizuoka University is located in Hamamatsu, Japan near Mt. Fuji. Shizuoka University is a National University with more than 1,000 faculty and centers of excellence in many areas such as opto-electronics. Shizuoka University (Hamamatsu Technical College) was the home to Prof. Kenijiro Takanayagi, considered the inventor of television in Japan.
About the IP Shakti, LLC: About the company: IP Shakti is an early-stage seed fund for biomedical and life science innovations. President and CEO, Dr. Dipanjan Nag has created over 21 start-up companies at Rutgers University and assisted several others at University of Nebraska and throughout his career. This valuable experience provides impetus that enables IP Shakti to bring disruptive technologies to market through startups. For more information on IP Shakti, LLC, please visit www.ipshakti.com, or contact Kaitlyn Turo, VP of Intellectual Property, at (609) 759-0214.