BrainCheck raises $3 million for app to monitor brain health

A Houston-based startup called BrainCheck has raised $3 million in seed funding for an app that helps users understand if they, or a loved one, may have suffered a concussion by simply playing some games on an iPad.

Founded in 2014 by Dr. David Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine, BrainCheck adapts commonly accepted assessments that neuropsychologists and neurologists administer to patients, offline, to an interactive format.

If concussion sounds like a health problem limited to pro-football players, it is not said Eagleman, and BrainCheck CEO Yael Katz, who has a PhD in biological informatics herself.

There are 1.6 million to 3.8 million sport-related concussions, also known as mild traumatic brain injuries, in the U.S. every year that are sports-related, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And older adults suffer from a high rate of concussions due to falls, as well.

In 2009, Washington state became the first state to attempt to stem this public health epidemic with its Zackery Lystedt Law, requiring policies for the “management of head injury in youth sports.”

Since then, the issue has gotten more notice thanks to a PBS Frontline documentary in 2013, League of Denial, and a Hollywood film called Concussion last year, starring Will Smith.

Now, the President’s 2017 budget proposal requests $5 million for the CDC to establish and run a concussion surveillance system which would allow the organization to more precisely grasp how mildly traumatic brain injuries are effecting the U.S. population, including kids and adult recreational athletes.

Data gathered by BrainCheck could contribute to such studies and our collective understanding about neurocognitive health, the founders said.

While BrainCheck has seen early traction in the U.S. among athletic trainers and families whose kids participate in sports the company is seeking to expand internationally and beyond concussion monitoring.

Specifically, BrainCheck is developing features and functionality to assess older users at risk of dementia.

There are 46.8 million people suffering with dementia worldwide, today according to Alzheimer’s Disease International. “This is projected to double over 20 years,” Yael said, reaching 74.7 million by 2030. Dementia assessments will be accessible through BrainCheck as of January 2017, she said.

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