A new app could help to screen children for autism by reading their facial expressions for emotional cues.
Developed with the help of the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Autism & Beyond app is a collaboration between researchers and software developers at Duke University and the Duke Medical Center.
So how does it work? The app asks children to complete a series of questionnaires and watch short videos designed to make them smile, laugh and be surprised. Parents use an iPhone’s user-facing “selfie” camera to record children’s facial movements for evaluation by doctors, researchers and software.
“The long-term implications of this research are huge,” said Dr. Predrag Neskovic, a program officer in ONR’s Mathematical Data Science program. “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.”
While it’s important to note that the app is not a tool for self-diagnosis, it could prove extremely useful for professionals: “We analyse the video to track position and movement of the head and face, including the lips, eyes and nose—all of which indicate emotions,” said Dr. Guillermo Sapiro, a professor at Duke University, who developed the algorithm.
“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.”
Autism & Beyond is currently available to families participating in a six-month medical research study by Duke University.
