Psychiatry’s new Generation of Telehealth Solutions

Behavior Imaging’s related research was featured at the annual American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) meet4 step workflow of BIing on October 27th, 2016 in New York City. CEO Ron Oberleitner presented on the company’s evidence-supported ‘asynchronous telehealth’ applications for diagnosis and treatment for autism spectrum disorder.  See abstract.

This new Clinical Perspectives Session was led by Dr. Kathleen Myers – University of Washington.

Formal publication of Behavior Imaging and other novel telehealth systems presented here will be described in an upcoming publication.

Behavior Imaging Honored at White House with the 2015 Tibbetts Award

On June 15th, 2015, Behavior Imaging graciously accepted the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 2015 Tibbetts Award in recognition of their exemplary role in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. In total, 23 other small businesses, and six individuals were formally honored with their awards in Washington, DC., during a White House ceremony featuring keynote speaker Cady Coleman, an accomplished scientist and NASA Astronaut noted for her six-month expedition to the International Space Station.

About Behavior Imaging

Founded by Ron and Sharon Oberleitner in 2005, Behavior Imaging®  was developed as a means of increasing disabled people’s access to care via technology. Having received their son’s autism diagnosis in 1996 at the age of three, the challenges of receiving specialized care for those with intellectual disabilities was a driving factor that hit close to home for the Oberleitners. Since then, Ron and Sharon have dedicated their careers to helping families and organizations improve their accessibility to mental health treatment while producing technological advancements such as Behavior Connect, Behavior Capture App, NODA Autism Diagnosis, and Assessment View while participating in a wide variety of Pharmaceutical “Case Study” Trials.

Derived from its founders’ expertise in medical imaging technology, and inspired by a profound personal connection to autism, Behavior Imaging has the vision, market foresight, and passion to bring to market unique digital health imaging solutions. Behavior Imaging Solutions (BIS) develops imaging and digital health solutions that lead to earlier diagnosis and better treatment options for a variety of behavioral health and special education applications. The company’s revolutionary ‘EHR-light’ video platforms and ‘Behavior Capture apps’ enable remote health and education assessments, improved clinical trial coordination, and the foundation for a global remote autism diagnostic assessment service. Taking four years to win its initial SBIR award, BIS was incorporated in in 2005 to invent and gain meaningful adoption for its Behavior Imaging® technology as a means of increasing disabled people’s access to healthcare via technology.

“Our passion (is) to really help our own child and the growing number of children around the world who have autism,” Ron Oberleitner recently said to the Idaho Statesman, “It’s a crime not to help a family get a diagnosis so they can begin early intervention for their child if they have instincts that something is going wrong.”

Before receiving the SBIR award, neither investors or health and education organizations would commit to Behavior Imaging’s (BIS) innovations due to lack of proof that its solutions could be effectively adopted to improve access for autism diagnosis or treatment, or to improve workflow to treat larger behavior-based disorders. However, after SBIR’s supportive product development and research, BIS was able to demonstrate the effectiveness of its tool. The support of SBIR enabled BIS to garner enough clinical efficacy proof that its technologies are now utilized by leading health organizations across the globe, the military, state departments of education, and at rural clinics and orphanages. Professionals are now using Behavior Imaging to improve people’s lives who suffer from debilitating autism symptoms, or from other behavior and mental disorders.

The majority of the BIS team and its advisers began as volunteers to prototype its innovations, but because of SBIR, the company has been able to make and test commercial-grade innovations. Behavior Imaging Solutions has expanded its revenue by more than 130%, expanded its employee base and partnerships by 80%, and is currently exploring the acquisition of a therapy service-related local company. The company’s technology is actively used in hundreds of schools in 31 states in the US and 4 other countries and is emerging as an important alternative for: 1) critical behavior assessments for students with autism; and 2) cost-effective skill assessment for the nation’s most disabled student population. Cost savings per student have been calculated to save school districts at least $12,000/year.

Want to Change the Way Autism is Diagnosed & Treated with Telehealth?

With the increased incidence of autism, the number of worried parents with developmental-related concerns is also on the rise. Because of this, the growing number of children with autism is putting pressure on an already overtaxed system that includes wait lists for in-clinic assessments stretching several months. Families simply cannot afford to wait. With autism, time is of the essence…

Seeking Collaborators

With NODA there is no waiting. Half the cost of traditional testing methods, NODA is complete within 2-3 weeks in a child’s natural environment, providing a valuable perspective that cannot be easily captured in a clinical test setting.

Currently, the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital is collaborating with the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), Georgia Tech and Behavior Imaging to introduce a new diagnostic service that helps patients gain access to a diagnosis, treatments and services sooner.

Behavior Imaging is also exploring further collaborations with organizations, autism centers, children’s hospitals and practices focused on autism that are interesting in participating in our Market Validation Research Studies that cooperates for the best interest of serving the Autism community.

We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with you!

Contact USBehavior Imaging Solutions
413 W. Idaho St., Boise, ID 83702
https://behaviorimaging.com

 

About the Tibbetts Award

Named for the late Roland Tibbetts, widely accredited as being the ‘Father’ of today’s SBIR/STTR programs, the annual Tibbetts Awards are presented to leaders from all over the United States who have been instrumental in supporting the success of the programs and/or utilizing SBIR/STTR investment to develop an ‘idea’ into a product or service that benefits the federal government’s research and development needs, the general public’s well being, and the nation’s economy through technological innovation and the creation of high quality jobs – sometimes in newly created industries.

About the Programs

The SBIR/STTR programs represent the nation’s largest source of early stage research and development funding for small businesses. The programs are administered by the SBA in collaboration with 11 federal agencies, which collectively supported more than $2.5 billion in federal research and development funding in fiscal year 2014. Additional information about each program can be found at www.sbir.gov.

 

Barrows Neurological Institute of Phoenix Children's Hospital partnering with SARRC and Behavior Imaging for NODA service.

Research, Clinicians and Smartphones Answer the Call for Faster & Less Expensive Autism Diagnosis

SARRC and Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital Collaborate with Behavior Imaging Solutions and Georgia Tech to Launch New Autism Diagnostic Service in Arizona

Collaborators Include: Behavior Imaging Barrows at Phoenix Childrens Hospital Georgia Tech SARRC

PHOENIX (February 9, 2015) – The Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) and Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital (BNI at PCH) today announced their collaboration with Idaho-based Behavior Imaging Solutions and Georgia Tech to launch a new autism diagnostic service that will significantly reduce the time and cost involved in securing an autism diagnosis for children.

Arizona families are the first with access to NODA™, the Naturalistic Observation Diagnostic Assessment, a diagnostic service using smartphone technology and a team of clinicians trained for assessing behavior to confirm or rule out autism.

NODA was developed by Behavior Imaging Solutions, a privately held medical technologies firm, in collaboration with SARRC and Georgia Tech. In the comfort of their own homes, families use a smartphone app to capture video of their child’s behaviors in prescribed situations and upload the videos to a secure site. Expert SARRC clinicians evaluate the patient’s history, review videos, tag symptoms and typical and non-typical behaviors, and render a diagnosis. A diagnostic report and guidance on next steps are issued to the family and can be reviewed with the child’s pediatrician. The process can be completed in two weeks or less.

One in 68 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, so wait lists for referrals for in-clinic assessments can stretch several months to a year in some cases. With autism, early intervention is critical for reducing and sometimes reversing autism symptoms and complications, so early diagnosis is paramount.

“Early intervention is vital for children with autism and the NODA technology empowers families and connects them to expert diagnosticians faster than current methods,” said Christopher J. Smith, PhD, vice president and director of research for SARRC. “NODA is a great example of how SARRC’s Arizona-based research benefits the local community first.”

Barrow at Phoenix Children’s is collaborating with SARRC and Behavior Imaging to inform and educate pediatric providers statewide about NODA, so providers may offer concerned families this new diagnostic option.

“We want to help more families gain access to early diagnosis and treatment,” said Dr. P. David Adelson, director of Barrow at Phoenix Children’s, which has recently expanded services for children with autism and other developmental conditions with new providers in pediatric psychiatry, psychology and developmental pediatrics. “Early intervention and expert treatment is the key to helping these children reach their full potential.”

“The launch of NODA is the culmination of 12 years of research and effort to develop an effective service that will help worried families get the answers they need and gain access to critical services sooner, at about half the cost of in-clinic testing,” said Ron Oberleitner, president and CEO of Behavior Imaging Solutions, and father of a 22-year-old son with autism.

A National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) grant funded a series of clinical studies, now in final stages*, to compare NODA to other widely accepted autism spectrum diagnostic procedures and determine accuracy of results. SARRC and Georgia Tech are leading the studies, which included participation by 51 families from the greater Phoenix area – some who suspected their child(ren) may have autism, and some whose children exhibited no developmental delays.

Research findings have demonstrated an 88.2 percent agreement between the NODA and the “gold standard” in-person diagnostic procedure. Complete study findings will be available in early 2015.

“We were excited to play a role in the design and evaluation of this technological solution. This is a great example of how technology can accelerate, and even improve the diagnostic process,” said Agata Rozga, PhD, a research scientist at Georgia Tech and a co-investigator on the project. “Remote diagnosis directly addresses the challenge of access for families who cannot travel or do not want to wait months for an in-person visit.”

Requirements to use NODA include having access to wireless Internet, and to an iPhone, iPad or iPod. Children must be between the ages of 18 months and seven years. NODA is currently offered as a private pay option for a $495 fee.  Future plans are to make NODA available through an insurance payment model and on additional mobile platforms, and to offer health assessments for expanded age groups.

“We don’t want to delay. We want to put this important service in the hands of families whose children can benefit from it right now,” said Oberleitner.

Physicians may refer parents and caregivers to NODA, or families may access the service directly. To learn more about NODA or to sign up for the NODA service, visit  /NODA or call (855) 649-NODA.

 

About the Collaborators: 

Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC)

Established in 1997, the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) is an internationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to autism research, education, evidence-based treatment, and community outreach.  SARRC is one of the only autism organizations in the world that provides a lifetime of services for individuals and their families while conducting cutting-edge research. More information is at http://www.autismcenter.org.

 

Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital

Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital is the largest pediatric neurosciences program in the Southwest and the only such program in Arizona recognized by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals. Barrow specializes in the treatment of pediatric neurological disorders providing inpatient, outpatient, trauma, and emergency care to children and families in the Southwest and from around the world. Barrow is dedicated to improving the health and quality of life of children with neurological and behavioral disorders and diseases. For more information, visit barrow.phoenixchildrens.org.

 

Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology, also known as Georgia Tech, is one of the nation’s leading research universities, providing a focused, technologically based education to more than 21,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Georgia Tech has many nationally recognized programs, all top-ranked by peers and publications alike, and is ranked in the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News and World Report. It offers degrees through the Colleges of Architecture, Computing, Engineering, Sciences, the Scheller College of Business, and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech has more than 100 centers focused on interdisciplinary research that consistently contribute vital research and innovation to American government, industry, and business. For more information, visit http://www.gatech.edu/.

 

Behavior Imaging Solutions

Behavior Imaging Solutions develops imaging and digital health solutions that lead to earlier diagnosis and better treatment options for a variety of behavioral health and special education applications. The company’s revolutionary ‘EHR-light’ video platforms enable remote health and education assessments, improved clinical trial coordination, and the NODA™ remote autism diagnostic assessment service. For more information, visit http://www.behaviorimaging.com.

 

*Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R44MH099035. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

 

 

Download link to download a pdf of the CBS 5 Arizona news article as a web clipping.

PDF of the Press Release

Behavior Imaging at Front End Innovation 2014

Behavior Imaging Presents at the 12th Annual FEI 2014, The World Leader in Advancing Innovation

Telemedicine and Social Media as Disruptive Solutions for Brain Disorders

Ron Oberleitner, founder & Chief Executive Officer of Behavior Imaging Solutions was invited to speak as one of the experts in healthcare technologies innovation at the 12th Annual 2014 Front End of Innovation Conference.

As a widely recognized leader in the field of developing solutions to facilitate the observational, analytical and collaborative needs of behavioral healthcare and special education professionals Ron discussed the importance of telemedicine and social media as disruptive solutions for brain disorders while sharing his experience of applying technology to transform treatment options for autism, ADHD, Alzheimers, and depression. In addition, Ron also spoke of his personal passion of launching health technology solutions and while expressing how social entrepreneurship can lead to both personal fulfillment and financial success.

About the 12th Annual 2014 FEI Conference

As the #1 industry event for provoking change, and exchanging best practices, the FEI is world-renowned for real world, best-in-class presentations by true visionaries that are passionate about innovation and deliver measurable results.

About Ron Oberleitner

Ron is the Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board for Behavior Imaging Solutions and is an expert in health informatics and telemedicine for special needs (TalkAutism, AustismCares).
For more information contact:

Behavior Imaging
413 W. Idaho St.
Boise, ID 83702
(208) 629-8778

http://behaviorimaging.com/

NIH Naturalistic Observation Diagnostic Assessment Project at AUCD

The Naturalistic Observation Diagnostic Assessment (NODA) from Behavior Imaging’s current NIH research project made an impact at the 2013 AUCD conference this month. SARRC’s Director of Research Dr. Christopher J. Smith presented on how NODA is designed to speed up autism diagnostic assessments. Behavior Imaging Solutions’ exhibit also allowed CEO Ron Oberleitner and others to talk about and demonstrate how Behavior Capture and Behavior Connect can revolutionize the way the disability community can diagnose, assess, and treat behavior disorders. The launch of Behavior Connect 2.0 and a suite of related smart phone apps have opened a lot of new opportunities for the behavioral health industry, including faster diagnosis and better oversight capabilities for supervisors.

Vice President and Co-Founder of Behavior Imaging Supports CCSSO Meeting on Special Education

Co-Founder and Vice President of Clinical & Corporate Affairs Sharon Oberleitner was honored to attend the Council of Chief State School Officers’ annual meeting on student assessments for special education. In 2011, Ms. Oberleitner was nominated for the CCSSO’s prestigious Innovation award on behalf of Behavior Imaging’s unique solution for assessing special needs students on a statewide basis. In her own words, “Using Behavior Imaging for assessments, it is truly an opportunity for all students NOT to be left behind. Evidence of a student’s progress is a click away.”

Meeting with key lead educational figures from around the nation, Ms. Oberleitner was able to provide her expertise in technology, explaining what resources are available for states and schools for these assessments. She continues to advocate for better educational assessment using technology by representing Behavior Imaging.

Training Investigators and Expanding Our Apps’ Uses at the AACAP Annual Conference

Ron Oberleitner, CEO of Behavior Imaging Solutions, has been keeping busy attending several conferences this fall, including the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) in Orlando, Florida late in October. At the conference, Ron and his team demonstrated our Med smartCapture App for dozens of doctors, researchers, and professionals and we were pleased to discover several new uses for this app. Some talked about its potential as a way doctors could stay connected with international or long-distance practices or research projects while others were interested in how it would help during pharmaceutical clinical trials. Most exciting, Ron and his team also trained investigators of a National Institute of Mental health-backed study on the use of Behavior Connect for another upcoming study using this technology.