Plymouth Meeting Company Says It Has Developed A Portable ADHD Diagnostic Tool

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. (CBS) -- A Plymouth Meeting company has developed a portable device to help clinicians more objectively diagnose Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Byron Hewett of Bio Behavioral Diagnostics says that even if a child is diagnosed with ADHD, it can be difficult for a parent to accept the diagnosis.

"One of the challenges with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is that it is a subjective assessment by a clinician," Hewett says.

But he says his company has established an objective test for ADHD called the The Quotient ADHD System, and this portable tool can be used by clinicians to analyze impulsivity.

"The patient who takes the test has a go/no-go task where they sit at a computer and they see an 8-pointed star and a 5-pointed star that flashes every couple of seconds. When they see an 8-pointed star, they're supposed to hit the space bar, when they see a 5-pointed star they do nothing, and while they're taking that test, we're also tracking their movements with an infrared motion tracking sensor," Hewett explains.

Hewett says results of the test can be analyzed in about a minute, and since it's portable, it can be used at schools and health fairs.

Reported by Hadas Kuznits, KYW Newsradio