Target ALS, Modality.AI partner to study AI in ALS
Program aims to detect changes in patients' speech, motor function
Modality.AI is teaming up with Target ALS on a clinical study of artificial intelligence (AI) as way to assess changes in speech and motor function in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The trial will harness a virtual, conversational AI system, called Tina, intended to detect even the smallest changes in ALS symptoms.
Five clinical sites, all part of the Target ALS Global Natural History Study, are recruiting 150 ALS patients and 50 healthy participants, who will serve as controls. Two participants have so far been enrolled in the study, which is taking place in Spanish- as well as English-speaking countries.
Data will be made available to the research community on the Target ALS data engine.
“Modality.AI’s technology is at the forefront of digital health technologies being evaluated for the utility of predicting and tracking disease progression in ALS patients,” Amy Easton, PhD, senior director of scientific programs at Target ALS, said in a foundation press release. “These technologies are being developed to allow clinicians, patients, and caregivers to measure disease symptoms in a more sensitive and reliable manner than standard clinical assessments, and in the future, may even replace clinical outcome assessments used to evaluate novel treatments for ALS.”
Transforming care
Digital health platforms have transformed how healthcare is delivered. Digital assessments allow patients to report from home about how they feel and function, instead of traveling to clinics. This flexibility enhances trial participation by bringing in a wider patient population, including people from under-represented groups.
Participants in the trial will complete twice-monthly sessions with Tina for 16-18 months. The sessions include reading and talking, as well as completing daily living activities, like brushing hair and face-washing, and cognitive tasks involving word recall and sequential movements.
Tina is available via a web browser, and no apps or accounts are required. Unlike other digital approaches that require patients to record their activities using electronic diaries, Tina engages directly with patients and captures their speech and key facial measures for further analyses.
Participants will also be able to report on any problems and symptoms on their own words using a tool called Patient Report of Problems. According to Target ALS, this is the first use of the tool in a multi-lingual, multi-center ALS study.
“We are delighted to participate in what is the first clinical study of Modality’s self-directed remote monitoring of speech and motor function with Target ALS,” said David Suendermann-Oeft, PhD, CEO of Modality.AI. “Speech, language, video, and other multimodal analysis technologies may revolutionize remote neurological assessments. We look forward to this collaboration and our work together leading to more efficient clinical trials and, in turn, faster and more efficient drug discovery.”
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