19 March 2025 | BlinkLab Limited (ASX: BB1) ("BlinkLab" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its newest partnership with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) and the Netherlands Autism Register (NAR) in order to advance research on autism detection in adults.
This study will complement BlinkLab's ongoing FDA-registration trial for the diagnossis of autism in children, and is a significant step in expanding clinical applications for the AI-powered diagnostic tool that BlinkLab has developed.
Highlights
New study evaluating BlinkLab's autism detection smartphone app in adults, including adult-diagnosed autism.
A focus on underdiagnosed populations, particularly women with autism, whom have historically faced diagnostic challenges due to previous testing methods.
A new collaboration with NAR, one of the world's largest research databases for autism, with over 6,800 participants.
IRB approval has been received, with data collection from a target of 200 participants beginning in April, with results expected by August 2025.
Addressing the Diagnostic Gap in Adults
Autism is currently diagnosed four times more often in men than it is in women, despite increasing prevalence of evidence that the traits of autism may manifest differently between them. Historical diagnostic tools and methods have primarily been designed around what might be considered symptoms that males are more likely to present. This has led to underdiagnosis in females, as well as in late-diagnosed adults.
The study aims to evaluate autonomic reflexes, including eye-blink responses, and how they present differently in adults compared to children, as well as whether BlinkLab's diagnostic platform can assist clinicians in bridging this gap between ages. The research is to be conducted as a collaboration with NAR and VU Amsterdam, and it will integrate BlinkLab's AI-powered assessment tool with one of Europe's most extensive research databases for autism.
Clinical Study Design
The study will include 200 participants, with a heterogeneous, age- and gender-matched cohort that will consist of:
50% adults diagnosed with autism
50% neurotypical adults
Key performance metrics (e.g., sensitivity and specificity) will be analysed to determine the tool's effectiveness in detecting autism, whilst aiming to minimise false positives (e.g., arising from other neurodivergent conditions or symptoms).
Partnership with the SCANNER Consortium
This research forms a part of SCANNER Consortium, a €5.3 million research initiative funded by the Dutch Research Council. This initiative aims to investigate sex differences in autism at genetic, brain, and behavioural levels.
