Speaking exclusively to Gulf Times on the occasion of World Autism Awareness Day (April 2) 2023, Dr Alshaban said his team has achieved a major breakthrough in diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which is easier to carry out and is assisted by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
Explaining the recent advances, Dr Fouad Alshaban, Principal Investigator, Neurological Disorders Research Center (NDRC), Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), said: “The progress concerning the Argus Cognitive research project is very important for us in Qatar, since it is funded by an external agency, a company called Argus Cognitive to the sum of $300,000 for two years to try to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning to the 'gold standard autism diagnostic tool' known as ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule- Second edition). This is the second year of research, we have great results, and a few months are left to conclude this project with the company and with Rush University of Chicago with whom we are collaborating. The ADOS-2 depends on the experience of the person administering the test. Introducing machine learning and AI will give it more objectivity, and will help in the final evaluation and scoring which help in the diagnosis of autism. This is as far as the Argus- Cognitive study has gone.”'The other important study which we are almost concluding is 'eye tracking' for which we had a collaboration with a Cleveland Clinic scientist. We have been doing this for the past four years, we have finished the first phase, using the long version, and in that part we created our own stimuli that mimic the American version, which fits the Qatari culture and society. It is also in Arabic language, so that it can be understood by Arab families'
Dr Alshaban stressed that “the other important study which we are almost concluding is 'eye tracking' for which we had a collaboration with a Cleveland Clinic scientist. We have been doing this for the past four years, we finished the first phase, using the long version, and in that part we created our own stimuli that mimic the American version, which fits the Qatari culture and society. It is also in Arabic language so that it can be understood by Arab families; we finished the first phase. We have published two papers and the results were as good as the Cleveland ones, which means that it is validated, and it can be used and commercialised later on.”'In the coming year we will reach the commercialisation phase after we get the patent and other required formalities, to make it available in clinics'
Dr Alshaban added: “The other phase consists of using the shorter version which has less than half the number of stimuli which means it takes less than half the time of the long version i.e., between 4 to 5 minutes for the whole test. This will be more helpful since it is not easy to keep an ASD child to sit and watch the stimuli for a longer time because he is always agitated, and does not pay attention, so, it is easier to perform the test using the shorter version compared to the longer version. And the results were much better than the longer version, we are now discussing this with Cleveland, as they asked us to help them in developing this version.”'At QBRI, we are trying to make it very short, if we make the eye tracking device available, it will stop all the waiting lists for any one, whether for screening or diagnosis'
Dr Alshaban said: “I hope that in the coming year we will reach the commercialisation phase after we get the patent and other required formalities, to make it available in clinics. The good thing about this device is that it is affordable, it does not cost more than $5,000. We can train any nurse to administer this test, because it completely relies on AI and the machine itself, it is a 100% objective test. It will give you the results immediately, to see if there is any risk of autism. We can screen newborns 6 months old and above. The sensitivity of the test is 87%, which is better than any other tool available at present. This is going to be a game changer in the screening and diagnosis of autism.”
Dr Alshaban is keen to help families . “The main problem for families who have a child with a neuro-developmental problem or a developmental abnormality is to find help in diagnosing their kid within a short time, in order to know if she/ or he is suffering from autism or any other neuro-developmental disorder, because the waiting list is too long, not only here, but everywhere, in the USA, Europe, Canada. It is very difficult to get an appointment in a period shorter than six months or a year. Here, at QBRI, we are trying to make it very short, if we make the eye tracking device available, it will stop all the waiting lists for any one, whether for screening or diagnosis.”'Our diagnostic services are available to all families i.e., any family who suspect a developmental problem with their child as young as one year, let them come here, we will do the eye tracking and the ADOS-2 tests for them free of charge, and it is available for anyone, and our waiting list is less than two weeks'
Dr Alshaban is confident that the second project, the ADOS with Argus Company, is going to help because it is going to make the screening more objective and it helps with the diagnosis as well.
"My advice for families is that the earlier you detect autism the better, especially if you start the intervention after the diagnosis as early as possible. The results will be amazing i.e. within a couple of years, you can see the difference as a prognosis, the progress of the child development will be much better. I have seen kids after receiving intervention and different types of therapy, whether behavioural, speech, or occupational therapies. They developed very well and they can communicate now and behave almost like their normal peers. So early diagnosis is very important in order to start intervention, and not only an autism diagnosis, but if you detect for instance any delay in any development like speech or any developmental issues. Once you start the treatment and the intervention early you will get a better result. This is very true for ASD, so my advice to families is to seek advice as early as possible with their pediatrician, who can refer them to neuro-developmental physicians to give them the diagnosis.
"The next step after you diagnose an individual with autism especially is to do the evaluation so that you can plan your intervention and treatment accordingly. If he needs more behavioural therapy, you will allocate more time on that, and it depends on if he needs more occupational or speech therapy, etc. This is the next step after the diagnosis; then you need to be referred to the treatment and intervention.
"At QBRI, our diagnostic services are available to all families i.e., any family who suspect a developmental problem with their child as young as one year, let them come here, we will do the eye tracking and the ADOS-2 tests for them free of charge, and it is available for anyone, and our waiting list is less than two weeks. By the time they send us their documents, we will schedule an appointment in a week to ten days, never more than two weeks.
"Moreover, the eye tracking test can also be used to show the progress they are getting through therapy when we repeat it after six months to one year. It shows us the degree of improvement to see whether we are on the right track regarding intervention. When it becomes available we are going to recommend the eye tracking test once every six months,” Dr Alshaban concluded.
