![]() People who excel at the test may or may not have high levels of oxygen being transported to the brain, but it is important that the client keeps trying to complete the task. To activate the brain during the scan, the client will be asked to say words that start with a letter on the screen. Ms Lee said: “Sometimes you get diagnosed, not just for yourself, but for the people around you as well.”ĭuring the functional near-infrared spectroscopy test – or simply, the brain scan – a device worn on the head uses infrared light to detect changes in oxygen levels in the brain while the client is engaged in a simple mental exercise. Some adults could be struggling in relationships because their partners cannot tolerate their inattention or they may lose focus while driving, but these symptoms may be alleviated with medication, he added. Prof Ho said it is important for adults with ADHD to seek treatment because they may be struggling with impairments that are treatable. “ADHD is a complex condition and anecdotally, it is common for missed diagnosis, misdiagnosis or even overdiagnosis,” Ms Lee said. She did not appear to fit the mould of a typical person with ADHD, she said. Some of her friends and family members were in disbelief when she told them she had ADHD because she had four degrees and had been married almost 30 years. ![]() When she received her diagnosis, she was given only a one-month prescription for medication. She said: “Having something like a printout, that is looked at objectively and scientifically, I think will give a bit more reassurance.” Unlocking ADHD founder Moonlake Lee, who was diagnosed with ADHD in 2019, said the diagnostic process costs about the same, compared with assessments done by some psychiatrists in private clinics, and the objective tests provide another avenue to be assessed for ADHD. Prof Ho’s team has also embarked on promoting the technology in developing countries like Vietnam. The assessment at iHealthtech costs $350 on weekdays and $400 on weekends, and there is an average waiting time of about five months. “It is important that people who come for the ADHD assessment are screened for depression while older people are screened for dementia, and we look at which problem is more severe,” Prof Ho said. He added that psychiatric symptoms overlap in psychiatric disorders, so it is difficult for the test to achieve a higher accuracy.įor example, inattention can occur in ADHD or depression – the most common psychiatric condition – so the attention problems detected by the tests could be caused by other disorders. This test has a 77.95 per cent accuracy, according to Prof Ho. Since each of the three tests has an accuracy level of about 70 per cent, each one enhances the overall accuracy of the ADHD diagnosis, he added.įor the brain scan – the only test in the diagnostic process developed by Prof Ho and his team of researchers – a statistical method was used to analyse data collected and determine cut-off points for people with ADHD. Said Prof Ho: “We have been using infrared brain scan technology for six years and we still use our service to diagnose depression, borderline personality disorder and dementia, but our number one demand now is adult ADHD. There is also greater awareness of the disorder now because of groups like local charity Unlocking ADHD, he added. Prof Ho said he has noticed an increase in the number of adults seeking professional help for ADHD, likely because those who had the condition struggled when they were stuck at home during the Covid-19 pandemic. ![]() Prof Ho said most of them reported suffering from ADHD symptoms for years and came to him for a diagnosis. Since then, about 250 adults have undergone the new diagnostic process at iHealthtech, of whom 240 were diagnosed with ADHD. The brain scan component of the diagnostic process was tested during a research study on about 75 healthy people, 45 adults with ADHD and no medication, and 75 adults with ADHD on medication, before it was included in the diagnostic process a year later in July 2022. ![]()
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