A mobile application used to assess sports-related head and brain injuries is now being tested for detecting and monitoring neurological disorders. 

BrainEye's mobile test is now being studied in clinical trials at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. It digitises the traditional eye movement test, which is done in 60 seconds through a mobile device, and then collects and measures over 20 ocular biomarkers using AI.

For the trials, The Alfred is seeking 500 participants dealing with various neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Data collected from the trials will assist BrainEye in developing a commercial product that can be used to spot and track neurological diseases in communities. 

"Early detection with any neurological condition is critical, and while the efficacy of eye movement assessments in picking up abnormalities is well recognised, tests are typically only carried out in clinical settings, and often only when it’s too late," explained Joanne Fielding, clinical trial principal investigator and chief scientific officer of BrainEye.

The collected biomarkers will be compared to readings from mentally healthy individuals to enhance BrainEye's recognition and understanding of normal and abnormal brain functions.

THE LARGER TREND

To date, BrainEye has undertaken over 25,000 eye movement tests, mostly done with major sporting codes and focused on concussions and brain trauma. 

"This is an exciting development for BrainEye as we move from validating its utility in sports settings to its application in healthcare, where we intend to help users identify neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s," said CEO Richard Nash about the latest trials at The Alfred.

"This innovative technology has great potential to be a practical and efficient tool for early monitoring of disease progression for a variety of neurological conditions," noted Terence O’Brien, neurologist and professor and the program director of The Alfred Brain.