Neurotrack gets $6.5M for its cognitive health tech

Neurotrack

Neurotrack released its first product, called Imprint, which is a digital cognitive assessment test that promises to deliver earlier and more effective evaluation of patients who may be at risk for cognitive decline. Also, the product aims to help advance research and treatment of cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s.

In the same press release, the company revealed it has raised $6.5 million in new funding led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Social Capital, Founders Fund, AME Cloud Ventures and iSeed Ventures. The funds will be used to accelerate research, product development and recruiting. With this new round, Neurotrack has raised a total of $9.5 million to date.

The web-based, 5-minute Imprint test utilizes eye tracking technology to assess recognition memory and hippocampal impairment. It is built on more than 30 years of research led by Neurotrack co-founder Dr. Stuart Zola, one of the country’s leading neuroscientists and researchers of cognitive decline.

The Imprint test is currently being used by leading research institutions with more than 3,000 people in Alzheimer’s studies as well as in pharmaceutical trials for the development of treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. These institutions include Brown University, Emory University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Harvard University, NYU Langone Medical Center, the Shanghai Mental Health Center and Stanford University.

“Like so many others, I’ve watched loved ones suffer from Alzheimer’s and been told that there’s no way to know it’s coming and nothing anyone can do. But cutting-edge research shows this is no longer true,” Elli Kaplan, Neurotrack’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. “So we’re bringing together the best minds in cognitive research and neuroscience to provide people with the information and tools to help them take control of their futures.”

Neurotrack has also revealed the private beta of its cognitive health product, a multipart intervention, built on lifestyle recommendations in diet, exercise, cognitive training, sleep and stress management that have been shown to prevent decline and improve cognitive scores in people at risk for impairment. The program is based on pivotal research in nutrition by Dr. Martha Clare Morris, based at Rush University Medical Center and Dr. Miia Kivipelto, a leading Alzheimer’s expert and Karolinska Institute professor who led the landmark Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER). To further develop and make available the program, the company has partnered with Mind Agilis, a UK-based company that has developed cognitive training tools to exercise memory, attention, problem solving, visuospatial and agility.

Neurotrack will begin running a clinical study of the cognitive health product beginning in Spring 2016.