Hemispheric, a startup founded by a co-inventor of Apple’s FaceID, is pioneering non-invasive AI brain diagnostics aimed at revolutionizing mental health care. The company has raised $52 million in funding to develop a system capable of diagnosing conditions like PTSD, depression, and Parkinson’s using a lightweight EEG headset and a tablet app.
The technology leverages a vast dataset of brain activity collected from 100,000 volunteers across diverse regions, including Asia and Boston. This data, which includes a quarter of a million hours of brain activity, enables the AI model to analyze electrical patterns in the brain effectively. The company’s first product focuses on PTSD diagnosis, with plans for FDA submission in early 2025 and a public rollout anticipated by 2027.
What sets Hemispheric apart is its ability to provide objective, hardware-based diagnostics, moving away from the subjective questionnaires currently used in mental health assessments. This shift could significantly enhance the reliability and scalability of diagnoses in psychiatry and neurology, fields that have historically lacked robust biomarker-based tools.
As Hemispheric prepares for regulatory approval, its vision is to make brain diagnostics as accessible as blood tests, potentially transforming how mental health conditions are diagnosed and treated. The company aims to build partnerships and expand its dataset further, ensuring that its AI models perform consistently across diverse populations, thereby enhancing their clinical utility.