The challenge for consumers is to know which tools are effective and, even more importantly, which ones will work best for them. Baseline measurements for physical health can be quickly and easily checked and rechecked to chart progress, but the mapping of mental acuity measurements has so far been beyond the reach of the ordinary consumer.
The result is that many supplements and programs are being taken purely on faith: “Clinical studies that research into the cognitive effects of active ingredients takes many years to complete. How can you know whether the supplement you are taking has any impact on your brain?” said Dr. Karim Leil, CEO of Canadian Sports Nutrition and partner in AURA Nutrition.
Photonic Signatures, a Vancouver-based high-tech startup is looking to change that by developing a platform that is designed to make monitoring of cognitive function affordable and accessible. Canadian Sports Nutrition and AURA Nutrition are partnering with them to develop consumer-facing products which will allow regular and cost-effective self-monitoring.
Photonic Signatures is working in collaboration with scientists from the National Research Council Canada (NRC-IRAP), along with the Digital Health Hub and Digital Health Circle at Simon Fraser University to build a breakthrough technology for monitoring brain health. The company’s development team is focused on building an affordable and widely accessible platform that is backed by scientific research. Photonic Signatures is targeting proof of concept trial in collaboration with Digital Health Circle at Simon Fraser University this summer.
From those looking for a mental edge in their daily business or sports pursuits to professionals seeking to track and change cognitive function in patients, there would be no end of applications for Photonic Signatures technology. “As life expectancy increases globally, societies will be faced with the challenge of age-related cognitive decline,” said Ramin Estifaie, co-founder and CEO of Photonic Signatures. “We’re building a solution that everyone can use at home to monitor their brain’s health”
Photonic Signatures is leveraging the latest in neuropsychology research and advancement in AI to build their platform. The technology will track subtle movements that provide information about various components of the human cognitive function and will feed the extracted data into an AI platform that scores each component and provides feedback to users to allow them to monitor how their brain changes over time.
“We are excited to take this platform for a test drive when it becomes available later this summer,” added Ramin.
While regular exercise, healthy diet and sufficient rest are widely known to be the essential building blocks for brain health and function, Photonic Signatures will give those who wish to do, even more, the ability to track key measures of cognitive function and help them build their own nutrition, sleep, and brain training programs to keep them operating at maximum potential.
Visit http://www.photonicsignatures.com for more information.
