SPOKANE, Wash. — With its first foray into medical devices, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories is hoping to help children with autism spectrum disorder get diagnosed and into care earlier in life.

The Pullman-based manufacturer announced recently that it’s moving forward with efforts to bring a handheld autism medical technology device to clinics across the country, after acquiring in 2024 the intellectual property and hiring the researcher who developed it at Washington State University Spokane.

While yet to receive federal approval, the device can detect atypical reactions to light in a child’s pupils, which research has shown to be an indicator of autism.

Autism is a developmental disability that affects about 1 in 36 children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although there are differences on a spectrum, autism often causes problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests.

It does not provide a clear-cut diagnosis, but the data the device gathers through analyzing pupil activity would be an invaluable tool in the screening process for clinicians, said Georgina Lynch, the researcher who developed a prototype while an associate professor at the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.

Schweitzer Engineering purchased the technology in 2024 and hired Lynch to oversee the medical devices team responsible for its development.

“We very much believe that there is a need for objective, physical markers that are associated with autism to help guide the screening process,” Lynch said.

Sampling at a rate of 80 frames per second, the 6-inch-wide device takes pictures of the eye as it responds to light, Lynch said.

She explained her research, as well as that of peers at other institutions, has shown that the pupillary light reflex provides a sort of window into a child’s brain activity. The efficiency of the nerves for the light reflex indirectly allows clinicians to measure the efficiency of the cranial nerves in the brain stem.

“It’s more than just looking at the eye and the response to light,” Lynch said. “It’s more about understanding what happens in the brainstem and autism that is significantly different from typical development, and that’s a new understanding.”

The device is an innovation in and of itself, Lynch said, but so is that newfound understanding. She and the company envision the device to be used in standard check-ups, alongside other noninvasive screenings like hearing assessments, height and weight measurements or reflex testing with a rubber hammer.

“The analogy that we use is, it’s much like your blood pressure,” Lynch said. “I would not refer you onto a cardiologist without taking a minimum measurement of what your blood pressure is.”

Lynch said the average age of diagnosis is still around 4 years old, despite all of the advancements in understanding the neuroscience of autism in recent decades. Screening measures can vary, and many are based on behavioral characteristics, which can make reaching a diagnosis a long and subjective process.

The data provided by the device is one of the few objective screening tools available, she said. That could make a difference in reaching a diagnosis and finding care and resources early on, leading to better outcomes for those children down the road.

Implementing the device in a family-practice and standard clinical setting could also break down some of the stigma around autism, Lynch added.

“We see this technology as something that could be used in routine care, that opens up the conversation and serves as a physical indicator for likelihood of ASD,” Lynch said. “Early on, your doctor can keep an eye out for that and begin the conversation whether there is expressed concern or not.”

Dawn Sidell, a registered nurse and director of the Northwest Autism Center, said early intervention can make a monumental difference in a child’s life. She stressed the value and uniqueness of having an objective data point to reference when screening for autism.

“Helping children learn to speak earlier, to process earlier and to engage with the people around them in their environments earlier can really have exponential benefits for future outcomes,” she said. “So, the earlier that we can get a kid engaged in early intervention services, the better it’s going to be for them and their families.”

For Sidell, the device’s eventual launch will be a full circle moment. The Spokane-based nonprofit offering treatment, nutrition, parental support and other services was a site of some of Lynch’s research over the years.

“It was pretty exciting to be on the front lines of a device that actually provides biometric assessment in the screening process, you know?” Sidell said.

It’s the goal of researchers working to better the lives of others to have their findings translate to meaningful impacts in the public, Lynch said. While she does miss some aspects of academia, she said her new home in Schweitzer shares the underlying goal of innovation for the public good.

She’s excited for what’s to come as a researcher and as a clinician who’s worked with children with autism and their families for many years. Lynch and the company are still working through the regulatory and compliance requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which they expect to take much of the year.

“The idea that we could partner between academia and industry to bring something to help kids is just an incredible honor and opportunity,” Lynch said. “Being able to be front and center and part of that active engagement, both between the technology side of things and also the health care system, is really a unique opportunity.”

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