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Monash University > News and Events > Monash Memo
'ECG for the mind' could diagnose depression
21 October 2009
An innovative diagnostic technique invented by Professor Brian Lithgow from the Faculty of Engineering could dramatically fast-track the detection of mental and neurological illnesses.
The biomedical engineer has developed electrovestibulography - something akin to an ‘ECG for the mind’ – which measures patterns of electrical activity in the brain’s vestibular (or balance) system against the distinct response patterns found in Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.
Working with researchers at the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc), he tested volunteers and found distinct response patterns that distinguished different CNS diseases from each other and from regular electrovestibular activity.
"The patient sits in a specially-designed tilt chair that triggers electrical responses in their balance system. A gel-tipped electrode placed in the ear canal silences interfering noise so that these meaningful electrical responses are captured and recorded," Professor Lithgow said.
"The responses are then compared to biomarkers indicative of particular CNS disorders allowing diagnosis to be made in under an hour."
Monash has teamed up with Neural Diagnostics to develop and patent electrovestibulography, or EVestG™. It is hoped the inexpensive screening process will become standard practice in hospitals around the world.
Neural Diagnostics CEO Dr Roger Edwards said EVestG™ could be one of the most significant inventions ever to come out of Monash.
"CNS disorders cost upwards of US$2 trillion globally and affect one in four people sometime in their lifetime," Dr Edwards said.
"At present, diagnosing these conditions is done almost exclusively through questions and interviews and it can take many years for sufferers to be correctly diagnosed."
MAPrc director Professor Jayashri Kulkarni said while engineering and psychiatry were two disciplines that did not usually work together, the collaboration was at the forefront of translating biotechnology into clinical tools for psychiatric practice.
"While there is more work to be done, electrovestibulography could provide a major breakthrough in the diagnosis of serious mental illnesses," she said.
MAPrc is holding an exhibition and silent auction with art work donated by Jane Hicklin from 5 pm on Friday 6 November at the Alfred Medical Research Education Precinct seminar room, Alfred Hospital, Commercial Road, Melbourne, to help raise funds for mental health research.
For more information, or to make a donation or RSVP call +61 3 9076 6924. |
