I’ve written about Bob Langer before.  (This is one of my more recent mentions.) He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve ever known and has been involved in the development of a slew of radically different products.  He’s also one of the founders of Pure Tech.  (He is not an employee there- he stays associated with MIT, where he guides the next generation of prolific inventors to help make this world great.)

Along with Langer, another Pure Tech founder is Dr. Ben Shapiro, who was the Executive Vice President of Research at Merck.  Who also is not an employee of Pure Tech.  The third founder of Pure Tech is Daphne Zohar.  Zohar was named as one of the influential innovators under the age of 35 (MIT Technology Review, 2003) and is a serial entrepreneur.  Zohar actually is an active employee of Pure Tech; the CEO, in particular.  It was largely due to her efforts that PureTech has been funded to the tune of some $ 450 million.

But, I’m really not talking about Pure Tech per se- but one of it’s spin offs, called Akili Interactive Labs.  Akili plans to commercialize developments in neuroscience, using consumer technology.  Sounds high-faluting… But, they are developing what the average consumer would call a video game, a methodology that would be able to help  those suffering from ADD (attention-deficit disorder)- without taking even one of those problematic pills.  (You know- Adderall- the drug that is among the most abused prescription medicines.)  11% of all US children (6.4 million) seem to be those diagnosed with ADD symptoms, so this is a big market.

Their initial device, “Project EVO” is undergoing a clinical trial, with the goal of product introduction sometime next year.  Project Evo involves a virtual world, one where the players must discern between objects, selecting some and avoiding others.  In so doing, Akili hopes to train the brains of those with ADD, helping the brain learn how to prioritize the data bombarding it from all directions every second of the day.

This game is something that was developed by Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a UCSF professor.   (Gazzaley is serving as Chief Science Advisor to Akili.)  Gazzaley developed this game at UCSF, and is expecting a patent to be issued on the underlying technology based upon “interference processing”.  (Besides ADHD, the platform is expected to prove useful in helping those patients with autism and traumatic brain injury (TBI).)

You should know that Pearson PLC (the school book and testing publisher) via its Cogmed subsidiary and Lumos Labs are both working on their own products in this area- the use of gaming to augment cognitive function.  However, Akili is the only entity submitting their concept to the FDA for approval; this means physicians could prescribe the device for their patients.

The tricky part is that the FDA has no real protocols to test videogames.  They are used to examining the utility of drugs and medical devices that actually change humans.  (We ran into a similar problem when I wanted the FDA to approve my kidney development; there were no protocols.  We worked with them to develop the testing protocols and the criteria for approval.  Dr. Eddie Martucci, the CEO of Akili is following a similar path to approval.)

Yet, there still are problems with the testing concept.  How can one run a blind study?  Won’t the patients know if they are playing a game or not?  The trick is to have one set of games missing the elements that Akili feels are crucial for cognitive improvement. (That alone is a significant trick- guessing on the wrong attribute means failure- even if the product works.)  They also must monitor for potential “adverse effects”.

I can see it already.  Akili has to report an adverse event when Johnny dropped his tablet on his toe and broke it!  [We had a similar problem during our trials.  A patient died during our protocol.  Yup.  He crossed the street and was hit by a vehicle.]  Obviously, not all adverse events are the cause of the device.

Share this: