BioBehavioral Diagnostics has created a software system called the Quotient ADHD system to help doctors objectively diagnose ADHD. The system uses infrared sensors to track patients' movements during a 15-20 minute test measuring inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. The company is raising $8-10 million for a national rollout of the FDA-approved system. Psychologists who have started using the system say it provides objective data to help people understand if they have ADHD and is an important diagnostic tool.

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Philadelphia Business Journal - December 7, 2009
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Friday, December 4, 2009
BioBehavioral Diagnostics takes mystery out of ADHD
Philadelphia Business Journal - by John George Staff Writer
PLYMOUTH MEETING — Determining whether children or adults suffer from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is, said Byron
Hewett, a “subjective diagnosis.”
To help provide doctors with objective measures to aid in making that diagnosis, Hewett’s Montgomery County company, BioBehavioral
Diagnostics Inc., has created a software product called the Quotient ADHD system.
The system consists of a kiosk with two infrared scanners to track movement and a computer and software program. Patients take a 15- to
20-minute test designed to measure three criteria used to diagnose ADHD: inattention, or the ability to focus; hyperactivity, the inability
to sit still, and impulsivity, or acting without thinking.
“We’re not trying to displace a physician’s judgment,” Hewett said. “We are trying to provide them with better information so they can
better manage patients.
“There are people on [ADHD] medicine who probably shouldn’t be, and a lot of people who have not been diagnosed who have the
disorder,” he said.
The Quotient ADHD system was rolled for beta testing primarily in the southeastern part of the country last year. Hewett said the
company is in the process of raising $8 million to $10 million for a national rollout in key markets including Philadelphia along with Los
Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. The company, which has 15 employees, will be looking to add another five people to its
sales team to support the national rollout.
ADHD afflicts nearly 8 percent of children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 4.4
percent of adults, based on national survey results.
The Quotient ADHD system, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2002, was invented by Dr. Martin Teicher at McLean
Hospital in Belmont, Mass. McLean is a psychiatric hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
A redesigned version of the system for in-office use was launched during the summer of 2008.
The test itself involves flashing images of stars on a screen. Patients are asked to hit the space bar when certain types of stars appear, and
do nothing when other types of stars are shown. Motion is measured, using the infrared tracking system, in units of 50 times per second.
Any movement of the head or legs — captured by tracking reflectors worn around the shins and in a headband — greater than one
millimeter is recorded. Patterns of movement and shifts between inattention, hyperactivity, distraction and impulsivity are measured at
the same time. Results are compared to normal distribution patterns, by age and gender, using a database developed by McLean
researchers.
“If somebody hit a space bar when they should it shows impulsivity,” Hewett said. “If they are distracted they won’t hit the space bar when
they should.”
Hewett said the system can help with diagnosing the disease, as well as track the effectiveness of treatment.
“Most physicians who deal with a lot of ADHD patients understand how complex it is,” he said. “They are open to tools that can help
assess the disorder.”
Hewett said the cost of the kiosk and software, which it markets to hospitals, clinics and group practices for use by child neurologists,
psychiatrists and pediatricians, is $19,500. Patients are charged between $150 and $300 for the test, reimbursed by insurers in 13 states.
Margaret Baker, a psychologist, and her husband Dr. Howard Baker, a psychiatrist, specialize in the assessment and treatment of ADHD
and ADD attention deficit disorder at their Wynnewood practice.
Two weeks ago, they began using the Quotient system.
Margaret Baker said the technology provides patients with a real-time assessment of the complex disorder.
“The data itself is based on objective measures, and it’s presented in a very clear and compelling way,” she said. “I thought it would be a
powerful tool in helping people understand whether they have the disorder. There is a lot of talk about ADHD being over-diagnosed. …
Quotient is a very legitimate diagnostic tool. It doesn’t give you the whole picture, but it’s an important tool to have when you need to have
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multiple tools at your disposal.”
Before joining BioBehavioral Diagnostics, Hewett was the CEO of Immunicon Corp., a Huntingdon Valley–based diagnostic company
focused on cancer diagnostics that was sold last year to Veridex, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary based in North Jersey.
Hewett joined the board of BioBehavioral Diagnostics in November 2006, just prior to the company raising $16 million in its initial round
of private financing.
In November 2008, as his responsibilities at Immunicon were winding down, he joined BioBehavioral Diagnostics’ management team as a
part-time executive chairman. He was asked to join the company as a full-time executive chairman last March, at which time he relocated
its corporate offices to Plymouth Meeting.
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