A team of French and Belgian inventors has developed a pair of goggles to track eye movements and interpret results to better diagnose certain neurological conditions.
Asking patients to follow the movement of a pencil with their eyes has long been a diagnostic tool for neurologists, especially for disorders such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
With the so-called ‘brain stethoscope’, a 10-minute session will see the machine note hundreds of bio-markers, which it then compares with data developed through 60 years of research in the area.
As well as for diagnosis, the goggles can be used in follow-up visits to give a precise picture of disease evolution.
The company behind the goggles is neuroClues. Its CEO, Antoine Pouppez, cited EU figures that one in three people will have a neurological condition at some point in their life, and that around 30% of these are badly diagnosed, or diagnosed too late for treatment to lessen the impact of the disease.
“Eye movements are actually the most rapid of human movements,” Mr Pouppez said.
“There are usually at least three eye movements a second and by using our device and software to see how the eyes move, we are able to diagnose people with very early symptoms of Parkinson’s, for example, five years before a positive diagnosis without the device.”
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The goggles, which have been used in medical research departments during their certification process, will be rolled out to specialist neurologists in French university hospitals this year.
“Typically, the patients who use the device have been referred by a family doctor after complaining they are not feeling quite right” said Mr Pouppez.
“Using our machines, the specialist will be able to diagnose with greater certainty, and treatments will be able to start earlier if needed.”
Antoine Pouppez, CEOEDU PEDROCCHI
A similar machine, specialising in diagnosing brain injuries from concussion, has been developed by competitors in the United States, where long-term injuries resulting from repeated concussions suffered by American football players have become public concerns.
Mr Pouppez said some researchers had started using the neuroClues device for work on concussion too.
An Italian researcher partnered with the firm to develop normative data bases for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebellar syndromes, myasthenia, and myopathies.
Certification of the device took just four years due to streamlined procedures to promote innovation.
At the same time as the EU certification process, the company also started a process in the US, which is about to be completed.
Mr Pouppez has worked in medical technology companies for 20 years and met his two co-founders, Pierre Pouget, a research director at France’s CNRS research body, and Dr Pierre Daye, an engineering science specialist, through his work.
With around 30 staff, the firm is looking for a final €3million to complete its €10million second-round fundraising so that it can accelerate sales and manufacturing.
