Neurotrack Secures $6.5M Funding to Advance Cognitive Assessment and Digital Therapeutic Platform

Neurotrack, based in California, USA, recently secured $6.5 million in funding from investors including Khosla Ventures, Social Capital, Founders Fund, AME Cloud Ventures, and iSeed Ventures. With this latest round, Neurotrack’s total funding has reached $9.5 million. (For details, please refer to VCBeat’s previous article)NeuroTrack: Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease 3 to 6 Years in Advance）

Neurotrack has developed two products. The first is a five-minute, computer-based test known as the Imprint Cognitive Assessment Test, which evaluates patients’ risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. According to Eli Kaplan, co-founder and CEO of Neurotrack, research on this technology began in a laboratory at the University of California, San Diego.

Stuart Zola, one of the founders of the company’s scientific division, discovered early on that the hippocampus is the first brain region affected by Alzheimer’s disease. He conducted experiments using non-human primates and took nearly a year to reach this conclusion. In May 2012, Kaplan met with Zola and other researchers to co-found Neurotrack, join the Rock Health seed accelerator, and secure a technology license from Emory University. The following May, the company raised its seed round of financing.

“After raising capital, we devoted substantial time to refining our technology,” said Kaplan. “Our initial licensed technology test at Emory took 30 minutes and required the use of expensive, highly complex eye-tracking hardware costing $85,000. In the first nine months of this year, we reduced the testing time from 30 minutes to five minutes and eliminated the need for eye-tracking devices. Webcams can now fully replace eye-tracking equipment.”



Patients can complete the test either in person with their physician or remotely. Kaplan added, “Neurotrack also partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, which can leverage this testing technology in clinical trials to determine whether patients are suitable candidates for Alzheimer’s disease medications.”

The participant is first asked to follow a blue dot moving across the screen. Meanwhile, a webcam calibrates the participant’s specific eye movements. Then, two identical images are presented on the baseline of the test interface to be deeply encoded into the participant’s memory. Finally, the participant begins viewing new images.

“We use this to assess the health of the hippocampus,” Kaplan explained. “Through testing, we can determine where you are looking, what you are looking at, and what sparks your curiosity; specifically, how long you gaze at images you have already seen versus those you have not encountered before. We strive to collect and record all of these data points. Once the test is completed, the data are uploaded to our servers. We then employ a highly sophisticated algorithm to evaluate your curiosity and your cognitive processing of novelty, thereby calculating your score.”
The company’s other product is a computer- or app-based cognitive health intervention program, which will be used in conjunction with its first product, Imprint, to help users improve their cognitive health. Neutrotrak will launch a private beta version of this product next month and, by spring, will enroll 300 participants to use the product in a clinical study aimed at evaluating its effectiveness.

“Many people focus their efforts on finding drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, but Kaplan says that besides drug discovery, other areas of work are also crucial. ‘Many regions, including Europe and the United States, have shown that regulating sleep, managing stress, engaging in cognitive training, and changing dietary and exercise habits can prevent cognitive decline. However, excessive focus on pharmaceuticals has caused us to overlook this important scientific evidence,’ said Kaplan.”

Alzheimer’s disease has a latent period of 20 to 25 years. Kaplan explained that during this time, individuals can take many steps to improve brain health. The company plans to begin by having users complete a questionnaire covering their lifestyle, gender, residence, dietary habits, sleep patterns, and other factors. Based on the survey results, the cognitive health intervention program will provide users with specific recommendations, such as which exercises to perform, what foods to eat, and which cognitive training tools to use.

In the future, this product will also integrate data from third-party medical applications and tracking devices.

Compiled by: Chen Kun

Editor: Zhang Nan