An Inventor of Apple's FaceID Wants to Analyze Your Brain's Health With AI (www.wired.com)

Gidi Littwin, co-inventor of Apple’s FaceID, has launched a startup called Hemispheric to develop an advanced AI model aimed at decoding brain activity to help diagnose cognitive disorders. The startup has successfully raised $52 million after gathering extensive data from 100,000 individuals, collecting a remarkable quarter of a million hours of brain activity data. This model uses non-invasive methods, contrasting sharply with traditional diagnostic techniques that often depend on subjective assessments. By employing deep learning algorithms, Hemispheric can analyze electrical brain signals in ways similar to how language models interpret text, demonstrating promising accuracy in identifying conditions such as PTSD, schizophrenia, and depression. Hemispheric plans to submit its first product, designed for PTSD diagnosis using a lightweight EEG headset, to the FDA in early 2024, with hopes for public rollout by 2027. The model positions itself as a cost-effective diagnostic tool that can be integrated into various healthcare settings, likened to a blood test in its simplicity and accessibility. As AI continues to permeate the healthcare industry, with major players like OpenAI entering the field, Hemispheric's innovation could offer significant advancements in mental health diagnostics, harnessing machine learning to transform patient care and intervention strategies. The team is also exploring new brain scanning technologies to enhance data collection for future model refinement.