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BlinkLab Limited
Overview
BlinkLab (ASX:BB1) offers a smartphone-based diagnostic platform that leverages computer vision, artificial intelligence and machine learning. A company started by neuroscientists at Princeton University, Blinklab has developed the technology over the last several years providing an app-enabled, smartphone-based diagnostic tool for evaluating children with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and ADHD.
The app turns the mobile phone into a medical device for an effortless way of conducting remote and rapid tests.
BlinkLab’s smartphone-based technology, which uses AI and machine learning (ML), makes it attractive to investors. Like other industries, AI is becoming very popular in the healthcare sector. According to Statista, the AI healthcare market is expected to proliferate from $11 billion in 2021 to $187 billion in 2030. The increasing use of AI is driven by advanced ML algorithms, access to data, and use of 5G technology. AI and ML technologies can evaluate and analyze enormous volumes of data faster than humans.
Artificial intelligence, and particularly machine learning, has the potential to serve as the great equalizer for many behavioural healthcare concerns like autism. According to recent data, 97 percent of adults in the United States own a cellular device, and 85 percent own a smartphone. In emerging economies such as Mexico, South Africa, India, Philippines, etc., most adults have access to a mobile phone of some kind, with 53 percent having access to a phone that can connect to the internet and run apps (a smartphone). As these percentages continue to rise and internet-powered devices become ubiquitous, access to digital services can become democratised on a global scale. While autism spectrum disorder (ASD) services are currently restricted to relatively privileged populations, digital solutions powered by emerging data science methodologies can make access to autism therapy universal.
Large players are investing in this segment to tap into the vast potential of these new technologies. One such example was Pfizer’s acquisition of ResApp. In October 2022, Pfizer acquired Queensland University startup ResApp Health for $179 million. ResApp developed a smartphone technology to detect respiratory diseases using cough analysis accurately. Furthermore, big tech companies such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet are also now venturing into the AI healthcare market.
Company Highlights
- Australia-based BlinkLab is focused on transforming mental healthcare through an AI-enabled smartphone application, a breakthrough technology developed at Princeton University.
- The company’s innovative approach leverages the power of smartphones, AI and machine learning to deliver screening tests specifically designed for children as young as 18 months old. This marks a significant advancement, considering traditional diagnoses typically occur around five years of age, often missing the crucial early window for effective intervention.
- Once approved by the regulators, this cutting-edge digital technology is poised to capture the imagination of both investors and major pharmaceutical companies, eager to embrace transformative solutions in healthcare.
- BlinkLab is led by an experienced management team and leading experts in the field of machine learning, autism and brain development bridging the most advanced technological innovations with groundbreaking scientific research. The company is chaired by Brian Leedman, an experienced biotechnology entrepreneur and founder of ResApp Health, a digital diagnostic company recently acquired by Pfizer.
Key Technology and Applications
Neurobehavioral assays of brain function can reveal fundamental mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric conditions, but typically require centrally located equipment in a laboratory test facility. Consequently, these tests are often unpleasant for participants as they require instruments attached to their face and cannot be used at scale in daily clinical practice, particularly with paediatric patients.
BlinkLab has developed a smartphone-based software platform, known as ‘BlinkLab Test, to perform neurobehavioural testing free from facial instruments or other fixed location equipment. This AI-based platform is designed to be used at home or in similar environments, independently or with the assistance of a caregiver, while following instructions from the mobile-device application. The tests include, but are not limited to, eyeblink conditioning (EBC), a form of sensory-motor associative learning, prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response (PPI), which measures the ability to filter out irrelevant information through sensorimotor gating, startle habituation, which measures the ability for the intrinsic damping of repetitive stimuli and sensory adaptation, and habituation of eye blink response, which serve as biomarkers for neurological and psychiatric disorders.
The BlinkLab App combines a smartphone’s ability to deliver stimuli and acquire data using computer vision with a secure cloud-based portal for data storage and analysis. In the experiments, each audio and/or visual stimulus is presented with millisecond-precise control over parameters such as timing, amplitude and frequency. To maintain participant attention, an entertaining movie of choice is shown with normalized audio levels. Participants’ responses are measured by the smartphone’s camera and microphone, and are processed in real time using state-of-the art computer vision techniques, fully anonymized, and transferred securely to the analysis portal. There, BlinkLab’s in-house AI/machine learning algorithms then perform clustering and statistical analysis to identify the prediction value of the experiment in the particular data set.
BlinkLab Test is initially developed as a prescription diagnostic aid to healthcare professionals (HCP) considering the diagnosis of ASD in patients 18 months through 72 months of age at risk for developmental delay. In collaboration with Princeton University in the US and Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, the company has conducted several trials using BlinkLab test as an early assessment tool for autism. Autism represents a global challenge, with 1 in 44 children identified with ASD. With no early tests currently available to detect the condition, the majority of children are diagnosed with the condition as late as age five. Blinklab’s mobile app can aid in early detection. The child can watch their favourite movie or cartoon on the phone, and while they watch, the app will record their reactions, providing key information on the functioning of the brain. BlinkLab tests can help with early diagnosis of autism as early as age one-and-a-half, leading to timely intervention that can make a significant impact on the child’s development.
BlinkLab will be subject to regulatory oversight as a medical device and must clear clinical studies. Previous clinical trials done by Blinklab have shown an impressive success rate, achieving sensitivity of 85 percent and specificity of 84 percent. The company notes these trials are very similar to those required by US FDA and have shown a much higher accuracy compared to currently approved products.
In order for the BlinkLab Device to be used as a clinical aid in the diagnosis of ASD, BlinkLab will need to complete a pivotal registrational study and subsequently apply for FDA registration and reimbursement for the tests. The registrational study intends to recruit up to 500 subjects. Enrolments for this study will start during the second half of 2024, with study completion expected by mid-2025. The potential to participate in a disruptive and scalable AI-powered technology close to regulatory approval should attract attention from big medical technology companies.
BlinkLab is led by an experienced management team and directors with a proven track record in building companies and vast knowledge in digital healthcare, computer vision, AI and machine learning. The company’s chairman, Brian Leedman, is an experienced biotechnology entrepreneur and founder of ResApp Health, a digital diagnostic company for respiratory conditions, which was recently acquired by Pfizer for $179 million before reaching FDA approval for their main diagnostic product.
Key Management People
Dr. Henk-Jan Boele – Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Henk-Jan Boele is an assistant professor of neuroscience at the Medical Center of Erasmus University and a researcher at Princeton University. He obtained his PhD from Erasmus University in 2014. Boele has always been pushing scientific and methodological boundaries and received numerous government and industry grants in the field of neuroscience.
Peter Boele – Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Peter Boele holds a bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy from Leiden University. He has over 20 years of experience in software development and has worked with Erasmus University, Leaseweb, Kaboom Informatics and Insocial.
Dr. Anton Uvarov – Founder and Chief Operational Officer
Anton Uvarov holds a Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba and an MBA from the Haskayne School of Business. He has rich experience in bio-technology investments with a particular focus on neuroscience and has successfully led several IPOs. He started his career as a biotechnology analyst with Citigroup, US.
Dr. Bas Koekkoek – Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Bas Koekkoek is an assistant professor at Erasmus Medical Center. Koekkoek has been working at the Department of Neuroscience mainly in the role of rapid prototype of new technology and techniques for neuroscience. He has numerous publications in the area of brain development including Nature and Science journals.
Professor Sam Wang – Founder and Chair of Advisory Board
Sam Wang holds a PhD from Stanford University. He is a professor of neuroscience at Princeton University, has published over 100 articles on the brain in leading scientific journals and has received numerous awards. He gives public lectures on a regular basis and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and the Fox News Channel.
Professor Chris de Zeeuw – Founder and Scientific Advisor
Chris de Zeeuw is chairman of the Department of Neuroscience at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam and vice-director at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam. De Zeeuw has received over 100 grants, including the Pioneer Award from ZonMw and the ERC advanced grant. In 2006, he received the Beatrix Award for Brain Research from Her Majesty the Queen; in 2014, he became an elected member of the Dutch Academy of Arts & Science; and in 2018, he received the international Casella Prize for Physiology.
This article was written in collaboration with Couloir Capital.
Tech 5: Stocks Rise as Inflation Cools, Google Unveils New AI-Powered Devices
Stay informed on the latest developments in the tech world with the Investing News Network's round-up.
1. Markets continue recovering after crash
The markets opened with muted trading activity this week as investors awaited for key inflation data.
The overall market sentiment remained positive, with most major indexes showing signs of recovery. The VIX index stood at 20 on Monday (August 12), a sharp contrast from a week ago, when it topped out at 33.71.
Tuesday (August 13) brought a sense of cautious optimism to the markets as participants braced for the release of July producer price (PPI) index data. PPI rose 0.1 percent to hit 2.2 percent, lower than the expected 2.3 percent.
Bolstered by positive data and optimism surrounding the consumer price index (CPI) report, markets opened high on Wednesday (August 14) and continued to rise after the report’s release, which showed a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.2 percent compared to June. The 12 month inflation rate came in at 2.9 percent, its lowest since March 2021.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) and S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) closed higher, but losses for Alphabet, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) held the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) back.
Nasdaq Composite's performance, week of August 12, 2024.
Chart via Google Finance.
With a rate cut all but guaranteed for September, all major sectors moved higher on Thursday (August 15), with tech and resources stocks leading the TSX to its sixth daily win, its longest streak in 13 months.
On Friday (August 16), the VIX opened at 15.29, its lowest score since July 23. All indexes were up on Friday morning, with the Russell 2000 Index (INDEXRUSSELL:RUT) leading in gains as market participants rotated back into small-cap stocks.
All major indexes ended the week higher, with the Nasdaq Composite finishing at 17,631.72, the S&P 500 at 5, 554.25 and the Nasdaq 100 at 19,508.52. The Russell 2000 had the biggest increase, rising by 0.3 percent to end at 2,141.92.
2. Bitcoin back in "accumulation mode"
Bitcoin's value has fluctuated this week. After climbing late last week, the cryptocurrency's price dropped by almost 5 percent on Sunday (August 11) to around US$58,500 by the end of the night.
Bitcoin then spent most of the week stuck within a range of US$58,000 and US$60,000, with analysts expecting further declines in the coming weeks as the market shows signs of seller dominance.
After Tuesday's PPI report, Bitcoin briefly topped US$61,000, and stayed close to that mark through early Wednesday. However, gains were quickly reversed after Wednesday's CPI report release. Bitcoin dipped below the US$58,000 mark again late Thursday afternoon, dragging major cryptocurrencies down alongside it.
Data from Glassnode suggests that Bitcoin is back in “accumulation mode,” a period when investors are actively buying and holding onto an asset. Analysts predict a potential breakout in the near future as buyer interest grows. Titan of Crypto posited that its price could return to US$66,000 by September, based on past trends.
Ether also hasn't fully recovered from the crypto selloff on August 5, down 14 percent in as many days. Ether spent the week bouncing between US$2,600 and US$2,800.
Crypto anon McKenna wrote that they don’t see Ether breaking past US$2,900 until mid-September.
Ethereum gas fees have also dropped significantly, due to reduced demand for block space and the March Dencun upgrade according to Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research. Lee explained to CoinDesk on Friday that lower fees have led to lower amounts of Ether being burned and thus an increase in the token's supply.
Historically, low gas fees often indicate that Ethereum's price will bottom in the medium term, Lee said, and the cryptocurrency's value tends to bounce back strongly after this cycle. When combined with a cycle of rate cuts, “the market's wealth effect is full of possibilities,” he explained.
3. Made by Google event gets muted response
At its Made by Google event on Tuesday, Google unveiled four new phones, along with updated versions of the Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds. The company's presentation focused mainly on advances in on-device artificial intelligence (AI) brought by the integration of the new G4 Tensor chip and the Gemini system into the Android operating system.
The G4 chip is expected to improve app coordination and productivity and offer users a more seamless experience. The devices will also come with Gemini Live, Google’s conversational AI agent, described as an assistant users can hold long, free-flowing conversations with to help them brainstorm, think creatively and work through complex problems.
Investors had a muted response, with Alphabet’s share price seeing little change on Tuesday. It fell by 3.48 percent by midday Wednesday following reports that the US Department of Justice may seek to break up Google after Judge Amit Mehta’s August 5 ruling that the company operated as an illegal monopoly.
Also on Wednesday, US District Judge James Donato, who presided over the Epic Games vs. Google antitrust lawsuit last year, said during a separate hearing that he intends to order Google to open up its app store. He also said he is considering a solution that would apply in countries outside the US as well.
In his December verdict, Judge Donato ultimately sided with Epic Games, which accused Google of anti-competitive practices related to the Google Play Store. A final ruling will be issued in the coming weeks.
Google shares rebounded on Friday morning, gaining 1.93 percent in the first hour of trading.
4. NVIDIA's Blackwell GPUs face delays
Rumors of delays in the rollout of NVIDIA's (NASDAQ:NVDA) much-anticipated graphic processing units (GPUs) continue to circulate. Starting on August 2, reports from multiple sources, including the Information, which broke the story, alleged that the rollout of the company's Blackwell GPUs, would be delayed to at least the first quarter of 2025.
The new GPUs were originally anticipated in Q4 of this year.
In a report, SemiAnalysis said reasons for the delay include a design issue related to bridge dies and complications with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (NYSE:TSM) CoWoS-L packaging technology, which is being used for the first time in a mass-market chip. The report suggests that the Blackwell B200 GPUs will ship in low volume, and that the B200A GPUs, designed for lower-end and mid-range AI systems, possibly wouldn’t ship until Q2 or even Q3 2025.
The timing of the company's announcement couldn't have been more inopportune, colliding with the tumultuous Asian market events on August 5 that triggered panic selling in large-cap technology stocks.
NVIDIA saw its share price reduced by over 15 percent from its Friday close to its lowest point Monday. At the time of this writing, the company's share price was below its value from a month ago.
Compounding NVIDIA's challenges, this past Wednesday, Taiwanese server manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn (TWSE:2354), revealed that only a percentage of servers containing NVIDIA's GB200 — that is, a GPU that combines two Blackwell GPUs with a Grace central processing unit — will ship in 2024.
According to Bloomberg, NVIDIA spokesman James Wu said in a conference call that Foxconn will be among the first to ship products with GB200 chips, but that most of the servers will ship in Q1 2025.
5. California AI bill advances past Senate committee
California lawmakers moved SB 1047, which proposes regulations to ensure the safety of AI technologies, through the Appropriations Committee on Thursday afternoon after making several amendments.
Introduced on February 7 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-CA), the original draft of the bill called for tech companies to test their technologies before releasing them to the public, and would have allowed California’s attorney general to sue for negligent safety practices before a catastrophic event occurred.
The bill has been heavily criticized by prominent figures in the tech industry, including Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li, who wrote in Fortune magazine last week that the bill, while well-intended, would stifle innovation and have “significant unintended consequences, not just for California, but for the entire country.”
AI firm Anthropic has been actively involved in discussions surrounding the bill, penning a letter to Buffy Wicks, chair of the California Assembly Appropriations Committee, in July with suggested amendments, some of which were incorporated into the newest draft of the legislation.
Under the new proposal, California's attorney general can seek injunctive relief and sue in the case thata model causes a catastrophic event. The amendments would also remove criminal liability for AI labs, ease safety requirements for AI models and exempt models under US$10 million from developer responsibility.
Additionally, the amendments removed a proposed Frontier Model Division, a state agency that would be established to oversee compliance, issue guidance and advise state officials on certain aspects of AI. Instead, those matters would be assigned to a Board of Frontier Models, which was expanded from five members to nine.
Even with the changes, the bill has met resistance in the White House. Eight Congress members representing California sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday, asking him to veto SB 1047.
In their view, the bill “would not be good for our state, for the start-up community, for scientific development, or even for protection against possible harm associated with AI development.”
SB 1047 will now go to California’s Assembly floor for a final vote. If it passes there, it will need to be voted on again in California’s Senate before it can be signed into law.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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