Evidence-Based Diagstics for Mental Health Disorders: Interview with Jack Cosenti - منتديات الرياضة

rss · #1 07-15-2017, 03:43 AM

Evidence-Based Diag**stics for Mental Health Disorders: Interview with Jack Cosenti**

Evidence-Based Diag**stics for Mental Health Disorders: Interview with Jack Cosenti**, CEO of Medibio
Evidence-Based Diag**stics Mental Health Disorders:

Medibio, an Australian medical tech**logy company, has developed an Evidence-Based test for Mental Health disorders such as depression, chronic stress, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Over 300 million people around the world have been estimated to suffer from depression, and depression is estimated to cost the US eco**my $210 billion a year. The company identified a ****** of circadian, sleep, and auto**mic system biomarkers that can indicate certain Mental Health issues. The test is reported to be **n-intrusive, rapid, and objective. One aspect of the test involves heart rate monitors to measure changes in heart rate during sleep. Some initial data collected by independent researchers validating the approach were an**unced at the recent “Sleep 2017” conference in Boston.

Medgadget had the opportunity to ask Jack Cosenti**, CEO of Medibio, some questions about the tech**logy.

Conn Hastings, Medgadget: Please tell us about yourself and how you got into this area.

[IMG]https://www.medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Jack-Cosenti**.jpg[/IMG]Jack Cosenti**, Medibio: I come from a deep medical device background and am motivated by developing solutions to address under-served patient communities. Mental Health is the largest and most under-served community today. We have a real opportunity, in collaboration with our ecosystem of world-class corporate and academic partners, to significantly improve the current paradigm in Mental Health care. The challenge inspires me and the opportunity to make a difference motivates me and the team.

Medgadget: Is there a Mental Health crisis at the moment, or are we just getting better at diag**sing Mental Health issues?

Jack Cosenti**: Mental Health is an under-appreciated and grossly under-diag**sed condition. There are over 350 million people worldwide dealing with serious depression and the World Health Organization recognizes Mental illness as the #1 issue in terms of disability adjusted life years. To compound the issue, there are simply **t e**ugh psychiatrists to serve the patient community. Access in the US is a real issue and there are ~8 psychiatrists per 100,000 people. In places like India, where Mental Health issues are exploding, it’s simply an intractable problem as there are just 0.3 psychiatrists per 100,000. As a result, care gets pushed down to the primary care level where diag**stic accuracy is at best 30–50%. Mental Health is the clinical, eco**mic and societal problem of our generation.

Medgadget: What problem does the tech**logy solve? Is it currently difficult to diag**se Mental Health disorders accurately?

Jack Cosenti**: The statistics are alarming. Less than 10% of patients are accurately diag**sed and prescribed the right therapy on the initial assessment. It usually takes many months and various treatment regimens to get it right. The essential issue underlying that statistic is that diag**ses of Mental Health disorders are completely subjective. A patient is asked a ****** of basic questions and a diag**sis is made. There are ** objective tools or measurements available. In stark contrast, the cardiovascular area has a multitude of biomarkers and imaging measurement devices (ECG, ultrasound, CT, etc.) to mechanistically understand the core issue. We aim to bring objectivity to Mental Health care. By leveraging a panel of biomarkers related to the auto**mic, circadian and sleep systems, Medibio has developed an objective way to diag**se and manage patients.

Medgadget: Please tell us in simple terms how the test works.

Jack Cosenti**: The patient wears a clinical grade or consumer wearable device for a couple of days. Our system then processes the heart-rate and activity data with a proprietary set of algorithms to characterize the Mental state of the individual. A comprehensive summary report is then provided to the doctor and/or user.

Medgadget: What Mental Health disorders can the system diag**se? Are the biomarkers for each disorder very different?

Jack Cosenti**: Our approach is aimed at broad spectrum Mental illness diag**sis and characterization. For generations, patients and doctors have empirically k**wn that Mental illness differentially effects the sleep and auto**mic systems. Patients with anxiety disorders often talk about the difficulty in settling down and falling asleep while folks with depression often experience early rise. These phe**mena are of course reflected in specific dynamics of the circadian, auto**mic and sleep systems. Mental illnesses disrupt these systems in specific ways and our biomarker approach is able to characterize and accurately diag**se the underlying condition. We are **w at a point where we can cost effectively capture longitudinal physiologic data on folks at scale and that provides us with the opportunity to apply our solution to a broad set of conditions.

Medgadget: How do you envisage the system being used in the future? Do you think that self-testing will be a phe**me**n, or would the test be administered by healthcare professionals?

Jack Cosenti**: Serious Mental Health issues should always be managed with a healthcare professional in the loop. However, I do see new models being deployed in the future in which physical visits are augmented with **n-pharm therapies delivered via the mobile phone. I believe telepsychiatry will also play a key role in increasing access and extending the touch of healthcare professionals. I do see a self-management and consumer role in helping identify and manage conditions before they reach clinical severity levels. At the core of all these offerings will need to be an objective way of diag**sing and tracking patients and that is what Medibio will continuing building.

Evidence-Based Diag**stics Mental Health Disorders: