Goodall, originally from the United States, is at the helm of the ambitious start-up that develops revolutionary ear and eye tests. The company, which operates at the intersection of health and tech, is located in Ede, Gelderland. Anyone who thinks that the CEO would have preferred to be in America is wrong. 'The Netherlands is a special country. It's small, but it has the characteristics of a much larger playing field; That's why I call the Netherlands a 'microcosm'. You have good health care, trained people, a strong infrastructure and a government that cares about its citizens.'
Backlogs, loneliness and unnecessary healthcare costs
When Goodall is asked about the problem for which MindAffect is developing a solution, she immediately gets started. Partly due to her personal experiences with a hearing-impaired person in her private circle, she knows better than anyone what the adverse influence of a hearing problem can be. “As many as 20 percent of the population has a hearing problem with an extremely low treatment rate of ~23 percent. The WHO estimates that untreated hearing impairment costs 1 trillion dollars a year worldwide in excess health care, long term care, productivity loss and education costs. Hearing is one of our most important senses for learning and interacting with others – unaddressed hearing impairment has lifelong consequences causing developmental issues, social isolation and mental illness. It can confuse the diagnosis where, a hearing impaired for young children could be mistaken for having autistism or behaviour issues. When you consider that the population is getting older and the number of people with hearing problems is logically increasing, you know that a solution has to be found for this," says CEO Jennifer Goodall.
Faster, more effective and more reliable
Current hearing tests work with beeps and eye tests with, for example, letters that need to be read from a distance. 'This requires cooperation and response from the client. But what if someone doesn't communicate easily? Because they are too young, or has an intellectual disability or can’t communiate for some other reason?', says Goodall. MindAffect's product does not rely on patient communication or reaction; it works with highly sophisticated brain computer interface (“BCI”) and artificial intelligence (“AI”) to analyse the brain’s automatic response to stimuli. "Our technology allows us to do this faster, more effectively and more reliably than any existing system," says the CEO. It is a 'hearing and vision diagnostic system', which allows professionals such as hearing care professionals, opticians, ENT specialists and other healthcare professionals to quickly and accurately test a person's hearing or vision ability.
BCI & AI are key
The client is fitted with a headset and relaxes to watch a video of their choice. He or she doesn't have to do anything. Within 10 minutes, the professional who administers the test has all the data to conclude the patient’s level of hearing and vision. 'So it seems to happen 'automatically', but there is a super-smart technology behind it. And that's what makes us unique', Goodall explains. The brain reacts to all kinds of things, which happens automatically. Just as an ECG measures the activity of the heart our EEG measures the signals of the brain, MindAffect's technology registers whether sounds and images are registered in the brain, i.e. seen or heard. If so, a coded signal from the brain is then analysed with our system. Our test is twenty times faster than the current brain response based method and far easier to administer at a fraction of the cost.' says Goodall.
The Aurora Hearing Diagnostic System for young children and older – MindAffect has validated the prototype this fall, expects to certify and launch the Aurora in Europe by YE 2025. In 2026, it will be launched in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. In the following year MindAffect plans to introduce present a new variant of the product: the KinderCap, an application in which the hearing test and the vision test are combined. The KinderCap should be used for every child, according to the CEO. "I believe that all children should receive this fast and fun screening test before they start kindergarten. There are still so many children who do not receive a diagnosis and therefore do not come along as easily at school or are even sent to special education unnecessarily. It is our mission to prevent this from happening in the future.'
Dyslexia- in autism-screenings
When Goodall is asked to look even further into the future, she mentions the need for other objective tests that can be used to investigate the extent to which someone actually understands something they see and/or hear. 'We also want to develop dyslexia and autism screenings. Our BCI/AI technology is key for this. In order to do so we need to find the consistent placement and type of brain signal which is triggered by the correct stimuli. Then we can input the stimuli and analyse the result to provide the diagnosis for the patient. Vision and hearing are more basic functions and this understanding is well known. However, for deeper cognitive issues, this is more challening – but very exciting!' For objective monitoring of glaucoma, damaged optic nerves that in extreme cases can lead to complete blindness – MindAffect has a working proof of concept', Goodall lifts a corner of the veil. 'We are delighted to be working together with the UMC Groningen – the leaders in the Netherlands in this area.'
Partners
According to the CEO of MindAffect, the professionals in university hospitals are valuable partners. 'The professors and doctors are very helpful and enthusiastic. Doctors and professors support us by providing valuable scientific and patient insight as well as write us letters of support. The institutions themselves, on the other hand, do not always seem to be made to work with 'corporates'. This makes it cooperation difficult and has slowed down our ability to test on a larger scale. We would be able to help society more quickly with our products if we got more cooperation from healthcare institutions.' Financially, the startup received support from NLC – the leading healthtech venture in the Netherlands, Oost NL and the Growth Accelerator, among others. 'The Oost NL team is an important partner for us by not only providing financing but also advice on grant applications and has opened their extensive network to us which gives us a better chance of success to enter the market,' says Goodall.
The Human side of BCI/AI
In order to get even more wind in its sails, Goodall argues for the further understanding of BCI/AI in the Netherlands and therefore also in the east of the country. 'The work you do as a startup to bring brilliant technology out of the lab and into the real world is daunting. Developing and validating the technology, developing prototypes, finding partners, gaining a foothold in the market, and so on. We notice that suspicion and unfamiliarity still exist with regard to advanced technology in healthcare. We are not developing technology to make 'deepfake' videos or mislead populations, we are developing advanced technology in order to make a simple test designed for all people – not just those who can respond. Our goal is to make a positive difference in people's lives and also prevent unnecessary healthcare costs.
