New Tool Uses AI and Computer Vision to Assess Reactions and Behaviors
The Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development has created a new app which aims to make screening for autism in infants and young children easier. The screening app involves presenting stimuli on a video screen that can elicit autism-like behaviors in susceptible children. A camera mounted on the front of the video device captures the child’s reaction and behavior to the video stimuli. Later, state-of-the-art computer vision technology and AI tools interpret the child’s elicited behaviors which include gaze, affect, head pose, and facial landmark expression to screen for early signs of autism. The information collected by Duke’s app in combination with clinical data will potentially develop novel biomarkers which may lead to understanding child development in an entirely new light. The Duke research team’s goal is to produce scalable, accessible and universal access to the best screening tools available for all families.
