Smartphone Attachment Revolutionizes Neurological Screening for All Skin Tones

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a groundbreaking smartphone attachment that has the potential to revolutionize neurological screening. This innovative technology allows individuals to screen for various neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and traumatic brain injury, using their smartphones. The attachment improves the accuracy of measurements taken from the pupil, making the procedure accessible and equitable for people of all skin tones. Published in Scientific Reports, this breakthrough has the potential to democratize neurological screenings and improve healthcare accessibility.

Enhancing Accessibility and Equity:
Neurological screenings traditionally relied on specialized infrared cameras, limiting accessibility to those with high-end smartphones. However, this new smartphone attachment utilizes far-red light, which is part of the visible spectrum and can be captured by regular smartphone cameras. By incorporating a selective filter that permits far-red light while blocking other wavelengths, the attachment enhances visibility and ensures accurate measurements of the pupil. This advancement eliminates the previous limitations based on smartphone models, making neurological screenings widely accessible to people across different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Overcoming Challenges:
Individuals with darker eye colors and skin tones often face challenges during neurological screenings due to the difficulty in distinguishing the pupil from the surrounding dark iris using conventional color cameras. The attachment’s specialized filter addresses this issue by imaging the eye with far-red light, which is reflected by melanin, the dark pigment in the iris. By making the iris appear significantly lighter, the pupil becomes more visible. This breakthrough ensures accurate measurements for individuals with darker eye colors, promoting inclusivity and equity in healthcare diagnostics.

Simple and Low-Cost Solution:
A key advantage of this smartphone attachment is its simplicity and affordability. The attachment can fit over any smartphone camera, eliminating the need for specialized sensors or expensive smartphone models with infrared cameras. This low-cost solution enables widespread adoption of neurological screenings, ensuring that individuals from diverse backgrounds can benefit from remote and affordable healthcare. By democratizing access to diagnostic tools, this technology opens doors for early detection and intervention, leading to improved health outcomes.

Moving Towards Large-Scale Deployment:
The researchers have successfully validated this technology by testing it on a diverse group of volunteers with varying eye colors. The measurements obtained using the smartphone attachment were compared to a pupillometer, the gold standard device used in clinical settings. The next phase involves optimizing the attachment’s design for mass manufacturing and refining its user-friendliness, particularly for older adults who are at a higher risk of developing neurological conditions. The researchers are working towards deploying this technology for large-scale neurological screenings in at-home environments.

Commercialization and Future Prospects:
To advance this technology further, the researchers have co-founded a company called Billion Labs Inc. This venture aims to refine and commercialize the smartphone attachment, ensuring its availability to a wider audience. By bridging the gap between advanced technology and equitable healthcare, this groundbreaking innovation paves the way for a future where everyone, regardless of their skin tone or socioeconomic status, can access affordable and accurate neurological screenings.

The smartphone attachment developed by engineers at the University of California San Diego represents a significant step forward in addressing the equity and accessibility issues surrounding neurological screenings. By leveraging the capabilities of regular smartphone cameras and far-red light technology, this attachment allows for accurate measurements of the pupil, regardless of skin tone or eye color. With its potential to bring remote and affordable healthcare to a broader population, this innovation marks a crucial milestone in the pursuit of equitable healthcare solutions. As this technology advances towards large-scale deployment, it holds the promise of early detection and improved outcomes for individuals with neurological conditions.

Source: University of California San Diego

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