Although there seems to be an app for everything nowadays, researchers from the Office of Naval Research and Duke University have created an app called "Autism & Beyond" for screening for autism by reading the facial expressions of children for emotional cues.
"The long-term implications of this research are huge," Predrag Neskovic, who participated in the research, said in a press release. "Not only could the app be used to learn more about childhood autism, it could possibly reveal signs of post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and mild traumatic brain injury [TBI] in warfighters - conditions that often have subtle symptoms and are difficult to diagnose."
The app is currently available for free download from the Apple App Store for any families that are willing to participate in a six-month medical research study that is being held by Duke University. It works by putting children through a serious of questions and showing them short videos that are designed to bring out emotions that make them laugh, smile or act surprised. The iPhone's user facing "selfie" camera is used to record their facial movements, which are then be evaluated by doctors, researchers and software.
"We analyze the video to track position and movement of the head and face, including the lips, eyes and nose-all of which indicate emotions," said Guillermo Sapiro, who developed the algorithm that lies at the core of the app. "For example, while watching stimuli like a funny video, does the child smile, look toward the caregiver or ask the caregiver to view the video as well? We study all of that. Lack of emotion and social sharing are possible characteristics of childhood autism."
After the autism studies are complete, Sapiro and his team hope to extend the app into the realm of other diagnoses, such as PTSD and depression.
"The great thing about the algorithm and video analysis tool is they can be universally applied to various research apps and studies," said Sapiro. "Today it's autism, in the future it could be PTSD. How can we take 'Autism & Beyond' beyond its current state and to the next level? Autism is just the start."
"We hope to find the right partner and develop a research app studying PTSD," he added. "We've already received interest from a nearby Veterans Affairs center about using this technology in veterans' homes to monitor behavior for signs of depression."
