Maybe I am misreading, but I am seeing mostly bad reviews complaining that the app can only be installed on a single device? Otherwise the game/treatment has a net positive effect?
Akili Interactive, who made the product this 2020 report is about, eventually SPAC’d their way public but ended up being sold off to private equity in March 2024.
Is there independent clinical data to support this approach? Surficially the gameplay looks like a slightly less enjoyable version of Mario Kart. This says the FDA "reviewed data," but not that it found the data compelling, only that the risks associated were minor.
If you are looking for a flaw in the study, it's that they compared their game to Boggle. I mean they don't call it that, but that sounds like what it is.
> The control was designed to match AKL-T01 on expectancy, engagement, and time on task in the form of a challenging and engaging digital word game, targeting cognitive domains not targeted by the AKL-T01 intervention and not primarily associated with ADHD. The user was instructed to find and connect letters on a grid to spell words; points are awarded on the basis of number of words formed, word length, and the use of unusual letters.
Would it have performed as well if it were compared to a game that is more popular with kids? Average age was 9.7 years. 10 year olds do not like Boggle or word games. They like Fortnite, which was massively popular when this was released.
Does Fortnite reduce ADHD? I don't know. I know for sure kids hate boggle. But Fortnite is free, this treatment is not. It's monumental that they got a game approved for medicine. But the reality, as it bore out, is that regular, top commercial games probably also "treat" ADHD. They probably "treat" a ton of problems kids have.
Well, in this case the control does not really match the treatment group at all, so I would suggest that may be a serious flaw. If the hypothesis is that the proprietary algorithm is responsible for the change in the treatment group, it is an odd choice to use an entirely different game as a control, rather than the same game with the proprietary adaptive algorithm removed. (Evidently it is possible to remove just the algorithm, as the demo version lacks the treatment algorithm.) I'm a bit skeptical of the utility of the study.
(I also take minor issue with a study "sponsored by Alkili" being reasonably construed as independent, given that "the funder had a role in study conception and design, confirming data and statistical analyses, and conducting the study." But this of course does not necessarily invalidate the underlying science.)
I remember learning about this a few years ago and being really interested, then I read the reviews on Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.akiliinter...
Edit: seems they've added a (also terrible) version for adults: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.akiliinter...
Maybe I am misreading, but I am seeing mostly bad reviews complaining that the app can only be installed on a single device? Otherwise the game/treatment has a net positive effect?
Akili Interactive, who made the product this 2020 report is about, eventually SPAC’d their way public but ended up being sold off to private equity in March 2024.
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/adhd-game-developer-ak...
Is there independent clinical data to support this approach? Surficially the gameplay looks like a slightly less enjoyable version of Mario Kart. This says the FDA "reviewed data," but not that it found the data compelling, only that the risks associated were minor.
Yes: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/article/PIIS2589-7...
If you are looking for a flaw in the study, it's that they compared their game to Boggle. I mean they don't call it that, but that sounds like what it is.
> The control was designed to match AKL-T01 on expectancy, engagement, and time on task in the form of a challenging and engaging digital word game, targeting cognitive domains not targeted by the AKL-T01 intervention and not primarily associated with ADHD. The user was instructed to find and connect letters on a grid to spell words; points are awarded on the basis of number of words formed, word length, and the use of unusual letters.
Would it have performed as well if it were compared to a game that is more popular with kids? Average age was 9.7 years. 10 year olds do not like Boggle or word games. They like Fortnite, which was massively popular when this was released.
Does Fortnite reduce ADHD? I don't know. I know for sure kids hate boggle. But Fortnite is free, this treatment is not. It's monumental that they got a game approved for medicine. But the reality, as it bore out, is that regular, top commercial games probably also "treat" ADHD. They probably "treat" a ton of problems kids have.
Well, in this case the control does not really match the treatment group at all, so I would suggest that may be a serious flaw. If the hypothesis is that the proprietary algorithm is responsible for the change in the treatment group, it is an odd choice to use an entirely different game as a control, rather than the same game with the proprietary adaptive algorithm removed. (Evidently it is possible to remove just the algorithm, as the demo version lacks the treatment algorithm.) I'm a bit skeptical of the utility of the study.
(I also take minor issue with a study "sponsored by Alkili" being reasonably construed as independent, given that "the funder had a role in study conception and design, confirming data and statistical analyses, and conducting the study." But this of course does not necessarily invalidate the underlying science.)
This seems like a privacy nightmare. If this is aimed at teenagers there shouldn't share any data with third parties IMO. Then again https://www.akiliinteractive.com/privacy-notice#consumer-hea...
I can't see many people trying to defend this for the sake of "move fast, break things".
"The current cost for EndeavorRx is $99 for a 30 day prescription."[1]
Here's what it looks like.[2] Very 1990s.
[1] https://www.endeavorrx.com/
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCXKNCKTmTg
The most common adverse events observed with EndeavorRx are: frustration, headache, dizziness, emotional reaction, and aggression.
I'm sure all of us who've played any games at all have experienced those. Especially the first one.
I play this game.
https://www.endeavorotc.com
Duke replicated Gazzaley's results.
The first section of his book is good at explaining attention:
https://www.amazon.com/Distracted-Mind-Ancient-Brains-High-T...
(2020)
> FDA Permits Marketing of Digital Game to Improve Attention in ADHD Children (2020)
Aren't all games "stealing" attention ?