WATCH: Detecting Autism at Birth

“Autism hurts millions of children and costs over $175 billion a year in the U.S. alone. That’s because we detect it too late, around age 4 when treatment is barely effective. In the few cases detected at age 2 years, treatment can drastically reduce autism severity. And, our brain test detects autism at birth.”

That’s Oren Miron from Harvard Medical School pitching his solution to Solve’s Brain Health Challenge: Autism Detection at Birth.

Their test makes a sound and then records the brainstem response, which takes much more time in newborns with autism.

Will you be in Boston on November 29, 2017? Connect with Oren’s team by registering for the “Bridging the Brain Health Gap” event hosted by MIT Solve and Stanford Brainstorm.

What’s brilliant about this approach: It relies on a screening already used on 4 million newborns each year for hearing impairment. Oren’s team hopes to add their algorithm for testing for autism onto this already existing screening. 

If autism affects about 1 percent of children according to Oren’s team, this test on 4 million newborns could help up to 40,000 with autism receive early treatment, producing better outcomes and cutting costs across a lifetime of care.  

Watch Oren’s pitch at the Solve Challenge Finals before becoming a Solver:

Oren Miron pitches Autism Detection at Birth at the Solve Challenge Finals in the Brain Health Challenge, September 17, 2017. (Photo by Samuel Stuart / MIT Solve)

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