Neurotrack Secures $13.7 Million Series B Funding to Advance Eye-Tracking Platform for Alzheimer’s Prevention

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that the brain health platform Neurotrack has secured $13.7 million in Series B financing, led by Sozo Ventures.

Previously, Neurotrack completed its Series A and Series A+ financing rounds in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The $7.5 million Series A round was led by Khosla Ventures, bringing the company’s total cumulative funding to over $25 million.

Neurotrack Funding History (Source: Crunchbase)

It is reported that this round of funding will help Neurotrack further develop its platform.

Neurotrack Technologies Inc., a startup based in California, has developed a brain health application to help scientists unravel the mysteries of memory and strive to find treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

In January 2016, Neurotrack announced the launch of its first product, Neurotrack Imprint™, a web-based digital cognitive assessment test.

This test employs patented-pending eye-tracking technology to assess the extent of hippocampal damage in the human brain, enabling earlier and more effective evaluation of patients’ risk for cognitive decline and facilitating research and treatment of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Upon detection of risk, Neurotrack focuses on lifestyle modifications, proposing interventions such as diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and cognitive training—behaviors that have demonstrated measurable effects on brain function in clinical studies.

Before co-founding Neurotrack, company co-founder and CEO Elli Kaplan worked with another co-founder, neuroscientist Dr. Stuart Zola, on global development and health initiatives at the White House and the United Nations in 2012.

Neurotrack Imprint™ is built upon over 30 years of research by Dr. Stuart Zola, a leading neuroscientist and researcher in the field of cognitive decline.

This study includes a five-year longitudinal study funded by the NIH, with results published in the peer-reviewed journal Alzheimer's & Dementia.

This test is currently being used in Alzheimer’s disease research involving more than 3,000 participants and in clinical trials for the development of Alzheimer’s therapeutics by leading research institutions. These institutions include Brown University, Emory University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Harvard University, NYU Langone Health, Shanghai Mental Health Center, and Stanford University.

Elli Kaplan articulated their mission as follows: “Like many others, I have personally witnessed a loved one suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that was once unpredictable in its onset. However, cutting-edge research has shown that this is no longer the case. Therefore, we have brought together top experts in the fields of cognitive research and neuroscience to provide people with the information and tools they need to predict their future.”

Cognitive decline and memory loss associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias constitute a major health epidemic, for which the healthcare industry has yet to successfully develop reliable tests or treatments.

Neurotrack Co-Founder and CEO Elli Kaplan pointed out: “As humans, we are all born with a survival imperative that favors novelty, seeking new things in our environment, whether consciously or subconsciously.”

Neurotrack is leveraging this natural preference to track and identify memory by administering tests in which users are shown a set of carefully curated images that may be identical or different, abstract or familiar.

During use, the application analyzes signs of cognitive decline by tracking users’ eye movements as they view images displayed on the screen. Eye-tracking technology monitors how novelty recognition preferences are established, essentially determining what is perceived as interesting versus uninteresting and capturing individual differences in these responses.

According to Elli Kaplan, CEO and co-founder of the company, advances in eye-tracking technology, data analytics, machine learning, and computer vision have enabled their scans to be completed within a five-minute, home-based process.

“This test is available to anyone with a computer and a webcam,” said Elli Kaplan.

This test is designed for use by clinicians, in conjunction with other clinical information, to assess cognitive health. These tests previously took approximately 30 minutes and could only be performed using extremely expensive equipment available in hospitals. It is reported that the test is now covered by insurance; insured clients can access it free of charge, while self-pay patients are charged $99 per test.

After approximately five business days, the platform will return the test results, allowing users to view their memory performance relative to other users. Over time, the platform will re-evaluate users every three to six months, tracking their memory performance to display the trajectory of changes in their memory.

Furthermore, the company is launching a beta version of its cognitive health program. The digital lifestyle intervention will be used in conjunction with cognitive tests, aiming to slow the progression of cognitive decline.

Elli Kaplan believes, “If people can easily and consistently access tools such as Imprint and the upcoming Memory Health Program, they will be better equipped to care for their brain health, just as they do for any other organ.”

References:

http://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/memory-health-platform-neurotrack-lands-137-million-funding

https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/neurotrack-technologies#section-current-team