CREARE LLC — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NICHD

Description

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Millions of children around the globe are afflicted with conditions that can alter neuropsychological development including human immunodeficiency virus HIV traumatic brain injury TBI cerebral malaria and a host of other developmental and acquired diseases and disorders Early assessment and intervention are critical in overcoming cognitive and developmental deficiencies and are increasingly becoming a standard of care in western countries However in resource limited settings children often do not have access to these essential evaluations due in part to lack of trained personnel and culturally or linguistically appropriate assessment tools Creare in collaboration with its clinicl and research partners proposes to develop a highly adaptable developmentally appropriate computer administered repeatable assessment battery for children that provides coverage of major domains of neurocognitive and neurobehavioral function but is sensitive to the sometimes subtle effects of disease The test battery is administered on a tablet computer that is low cost highly mobile and provides a very intuitive user interface for test administrators as well as children taking the test In addition to the neurocognitive tasks that cover major cognitive domains that are most sensitive to effects of disease the assessment battery includes a number of standardized psychometrically sound questionnaires for parents or caregivers that gather developmentally relevant functional behaviors The test battery is designed to be widely applicable for children from preschool through school aged and includes tests of attention executive function processing speed learning and memory Creare has assembled a world class team to develop and commercialize this innovation Our system is made possible by algorithms and software that Creare has previously developed for smartphone and tablet based neurocognitive testing and hearing screening as well as training therapy data sharing and assessment We have teamed with Dr Betsy Kammerer a developmental neuropsychologist at Boston Childrenandapos s Hospital experienced in assessment of children in the context of disease in international settings e g Sub Saharan Africa We have also partnered with Drs Peter Isquith and Gerry Gioia developmental neuropsychologists with expertise in assessment and extensive experience in developing and publishing measures both rating scale and computer administered tests that are sensitive to a variety of conditions and have been translated and adapted for multiple languages and cultures PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Early assessment and intervention is critical in overcoming cognitive and developmental deficiencies for children suffering from a variety of conditions that affect neuropsychological function The proposed adaptable tablet based assessment tools that include both rating scale and neurocognitive measures will greatly increase access to essential pediatric assessment in all settings including lower and middle income countries and underserved communities in resource rich countries