With the increased incidence of autism, the number of worried parents with developmental-related concerns is also on the rise. As a result, there is pressure on an already overtaxed system that includes waiting for an in-clinic assessment that can stretch several months.
To help remedy the situation, the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital http://barrow.phoenixchildrens.org started collaborating with the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) www.autismcenter.org, Georgia Tech www.gatech.edu, and Behavior Imaging Solutions http://behaviorimaging.com on a diagnostic service called the “Naturalistic Observation Diagnostic Assessment” or referred to as NODA™ http://behaviorimaging.com/noda-hompage.
NODA is a clinically tested diagnostic service using smartphone technology where a team of clinicians are trained to assess autistic behavior or to diagnose or rule out autism. In the comfort of their own homes, families use a smartphone app to capture a video of their child’s behaviors in prescribed situations. The video is uploaded to a secure site, where expert clinicians review the videos, tag symptoms along with typical and non-typical behaviors, and then render a diagnosis.
The process is completed within two weeks or less and is accomplished in the child’s natural environment. The system encourages parents to allow NODA to notify their child’s physician of their participation in the service and if requested, a copy of the diagnostic report is made available to the physician.
In December 2014, SARRC completed a National Institute of Mental Health’s www.nimh.nih.gov funded clinical trial examining whether the NODA system can effectively identify autism in 18 month to 6 year old children. The study found that NODA agreed with the standard in person assessment for ASD in 88.2 percent of the cases
To move forward, medical professionals in Arizona were the first to offer NODA to patients when the service was made available last February by Behavior Imaging Solutions. At that time, a 60-day commercialization pilot was launched and engaged 60 Arizona children in the study to test pricing, communications, and operational processes in preparation for a national launch.