Dr. Hallowell invites several guests to present a different form of diagnosing a difference, including discussion of an exciting new tool for screening for ADHD: the Virtual Reality Attention Tracker!. This wearable device is a project of Cognitive Leap, a digital mental health company exploring innovative ways of applying the latest technology to the diagnosis and treatment of all kinds of conditions. Jack Chen is the CEO of the company and overseer of the VR Attention Tracker project, and he joins the podcast today along with his colleagues Skip Rizzo, a professor at USC, and Aram Ma, the principal investigator of the project.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different
Episode: Ep. 16 – Jack Chen

Welcome to Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different, a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell that features a wide range of guests from various backgrounds to help uncover and celebrate the differences among people. From approaching life to problem-solving and to having fun, we dive into it all! Together, we will break down the notions of normal and abnormal, and trade them for an exploration of the talents everyone has.

Today’s episode is an unusual one, as Dr. Hallowell invites several guests to present a different form of diagnosing a difference!  More specifically, the episode highlights an exciting new tool for screening for ADHD: the Virtual Reality Attention Tracker!  This wearable device is a project of Cognitive Leap, a digital mental health company exploring innovative ways of applying the latest technology to the diagnosis and treatment of all kinds of conditions.  Ned’s friend Jack Chen is the CEO of the company and overseer of the VR Attention Tracker project, and he joins the podcast today along with his colleagues Skip Rizzo, a professor at USC, and Aram Ma, the principal investigator of the project.

Cognitive Leap has been developing virtual reality as a tool to deliver cognitive testing within the VR environments.  In the situation of the VR Attention Tracker, the company created a virtual classroom that is realistic and engaging for kids and allows for environmental manipulation and detailed testing of attention skills.  The tracker can not only take standard measures but also assess the type/nature of attention errors.  It provides high quality data and frequent measurements, ultimately offering a robust representation of an individual’s performance over a thirteen minute period.  This data includes objective measurements of the three key variables for diagnosing ADHD: distractibility, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.

The VR Attention Tracker is intended to complement other means of gathering information about a child, and it contributes information that cannot be gained through any other tool.  Within a wider context, it is one iteration of the kinds of technology making inroads in the medical space.  The tracker and a prescription digital therapeutic tool within an app are both going through the FDA approval process, but Cognitive Leap is actually looking for children between the ages of 6 to 13 to give its tracker a try now!  If interested, call 617. 941. 3795!

Links:

Learn more about Cognitive Leap, its team, and the VR Attention Tracker.

Connect Jack Chen, Skip Rizzo, and Aaron Ma.

If you have a comment about this episode or a suggestion for a future episode, send it to different@hallowaycenter.org