Image Credit: Shutterstock / William Summerville
Californian neurotech and AI company, C. Light have developed new, cutting edge eye-tracking technology which could become a crucial component for monitoring and understanding multiple sclerosis. The company hopes to develop the system to monitor and shape future treatments for other neurological conditions through further development of the core technology.
Neurologists and neuro-ophthalmologists around the world diagnose and treat various level neurological conditions by carefully monitoring eye-movement and health. With C. Light’s latest innovation, the utilization of machine learning to measure neurological activity enhances and outperforms current methodologies of brain health monitoring.
The Back of the Eye, the Front of the Brain
By measuring neurological activity through retina imaging, C. Light’s machine learning instrument can accurately and rapidly observe a patient’s condition. All the patients need to do is focus on a targeted area for just 10 seconds while the technology records a short video. Furthermore, the system is optimized so that there is no need for invasive techniques and the tests can even be carried out without the need for eye drops to dilate the pupil.
The AI is then able to use the information from the video to generate a Tracking Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (TSLO) readout report which offers actionable data to doctors and care teams.
We use AI paired with eye tracking to create a digital fingerprint of your neurological health, with unprecedented speed and sensitivity.
Dr. Zachary Helft, Co-founder, C. Light
The feedback provided from the technology should then be able to allow doctors to quickly determine the patient’s immediate state of health and the effectiveness of ongoing treatments. This insight would also assist doctors and patient care teams when modifying treatments and care methods if necessary, proving effective eye-health monitoring is vital to neurological care, “The back of your eye is actually the front of your brain,” added Dr. Helft.
Preventing Mounting Costs
Currently, Multiple Sclerosis places a significant burden on US healthcare with an annual cost of 28 Billion US dollars. Furthermore, neurological health and neurodegenerative diseases are the fastest growing areas of healthcare costs – central nervous system conditions int total cost the healthcare system 800 billion US dollars.
Diagnosing and continually monitoring neurological conditions is a costly and time-consuming affair, and delayed diagnoses and unpredictable disease development can hinder patient treatment and lead to other problems across the chain of healthcare. Another challenge doctors must overcome to treat patients is the limited availability of effective medications meaning treatment plans must be carefully planned and updated regularly.
Thus, a new, state of the art eye-tracking system could be the boost care teams need to prevent mounting costs and create a positive patient outcome and care package. With an improved chain of care and monitoring comes peace of mind for patients and reduced healthcare costs as well enabling access to rapid and accurate measurements to the relevant care teams.
The Future of Neurological Healthcare
C. Light’s latest machine learning technology outperforms other devices and instruments as it is 120 times more sensitive than other eye-tracking systems by extracting motion on the cellular level – movements at around 1/100 of a human hair. The next steps are to apply the technology into other areas of neurological monitoring for conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, and concussions.
As many degenerative neurological and central nervous system conditions have no cure, including multiple sclerosis, managing symptoms and slowing the progression of the disease is vital for a patient’s quality of life. By offering both patients and doctors access to premium technology means there is great potential for C. Light’s eye-tracking system to revolutionize the future of neurological healthcare across the board.
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