Long waits for autism evaluation are a significant barrier in the United States, particularly in rural areas where families face long travel and extra costs. To address this, researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, led by Kristin Sohl, collaborated with Cognoa to evaluate CanvasDx, an FDA-approved medical device. CanvasDx combines AI algorithms with patient data to predict a positive or negative autism diagnosis; it returns an "indeterminate" result when the information is not sufficient.
The study worked through the ECHO Autism community, which provides training to primary care clinicians across Missouri and beyond. The goal was to test whether CanvasDx could help clinicians without nearby specialty services to evaluate children locally and thus increase access to timely diagnosis and care.
- Average travel distance to specialty care in the study area: 97 miles.
- Earlier diagnosis when care stayed local: 5-7 months sooner.
- Number of children in the study: 80.
- Device gave determinate results for 52% of patients and produced no false positives or false negatives.
The researchers report that keeping care local helped families save on travel and receive diagnoses sooner. CanvasDx produced determinate results for just over half the children in the sample and never contradicted a clinician's diagnosis. Sohl said tools like CanvasDx can speed diagnosis when used by clinicians experienced in autism and can streamline evaluation, while clinician education in autism evaluation and care remains essential. The research appears in JMIR Formative Research; source: University of Missouri.
Difficult words
- barrier — something that makes access or progress difficult
- rural — relating to areas outside cities and townsrural areas
- collaborate — work together with others on a projectcollaborated
- algorithm — a set of rules a computer followsalgorithms
- indeterminate — not clearly decided or known from data
- determinate — clearly decided or producing a definite outcome
- specialty — a specific area of professional medical servicespecialty care, specialty services
- clinician — a health professional who treats patientsclinicians, clinician's
- streamline — make a process faster and more efficient
- diagnosis — identifying a medical condition in a patientdiagnoses
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How could tools like CanvasDx improve access to diagnosis and care in rural areas? Give reasons.
- What potential risks come from using AI-based tools for medical diagnosis, and how can clinician education reduce those risks?
- In what ways might an earlier diagnosis (for example, 5–7 months sooner) affect a child and their family?
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