PTSD is often misdiagnosed. Symptoms can be confused with those of depression. Many clinicians lack the expertise needed to distinguish the condition, and therefore might not provide appropriate treatment.
To address this widespread dilemma, Draper has developed a diagnostic system that combines virtual reality data with psychophysiological sensors. The sensors monitor heart rate, sweat, and pupil diameter, while subjects experience different types of audio and visual stimuli.
Stimuli customized to a patient’s personal traumatic experience can generate robust psychophysiological responses. However, the time needed to tailor stimuli is often not available in a point-of-care setting. Draper’s solution uses generalized stimuli that results in quicker, more accurate assessments.
Additional research will address larger samples over a wide geographic area, as well as patients suffering from multiple mental health issue and chronic diseases.
According to Dr. Philip Parks, who oversees Draper’s neurotechnology portfolio: “Once diagnosed with a particular disorder, such as depression, most mental health patients get relatively the same treatment even though their symptoms and response to treatment choices may be quite different. We hope that one day these technologies will help clinicians ensure that patients get the best possible medication and other treatments at the right time.”
Dr. Parks will be a featured speaker at NeuroTech NYC on June 8th at the New York Academy of Sciences.
Wearable Tech + Digital Health San Francisco – April 5, 2016 @ the Mission Bay Conference Center
NeuroTech San Francisco – April 6 @ the Mission Bay Conference Center
Wearable Tech + Digital Health NYC – June 7, 2016 @ the New York Academy of Sciences
NeuroTech NYC – June 8, 2016 @ the New York Academy of Sciences