Descrizione del progetto
Uno strumento diagnostico per la sinestesia infantile
Il tratto genetico della sinestesia è l’esperienza di sensazioni fantasma, quando un senso è percepito contemporaneamente da uno o più sensi diversi. La sinestesia collega lettere, forme, numeri o suoni a una percezione sensoriale quale l’odore, il colore o il sapore. Purtroppo, la sinestesia è co-morbosa con patologie come i disturbi d’ansia e l’autismo, e potrebbe avere un impatto sul percorso scolastico. Il progetto SYN-TOOLKIT, finanziato dall’UE, mira a sviluppare un pacchetto di applicazioni per la diagnosi e l’assistenza alle due forme più diffuse di sinestesia infantile. SYN-TOOLKIT si concentrerà sulla prova di concetto stabilendo la fattibilità tecnica, la fruibilità e la commercializzazione, in base al pacchetto di test messo a punto. Il progetto affronta l’attuale nota mancanza di risorse diagnostiche per i bambini affetti da sinestesia.
Obiettivo
People with the genetic trait of synaesthesia experience phantom colours, sounds, tastes, and other unusual sensations. These are triggered by everyday activities like reading or listening to music. Importantly, synaesthesia is comorbid with health conditions including anxiety disorder and autism, and has a known impact on education. Although there are widely available tests for diagnosing synaesthesia in adults, there are none for children - despite its relatively wide impact (307 million synaesthetes worldwide). My ERC Consolidator grant MULTISENSE has generated such a test, to share with fellow researchers. However, during the course of MULTISENSE we have been approached by multiple professionals beyond the research sector (e.g. clinicians), each in need of a diagnostic for the child synaesthetes they are increasingly encountering. These professionals require a test package comprising Diagnostic tool, Testing manual, Automatic Scoring, etc. which could be easily implemented by non-scientists. Not only is this testing package non-existent in any country worldwide, but it is requested from us on a regular basis. Hence, SYN-TOOLKIT will provide an app-based package to diagnose and support two of the most prevalent forms of childhood synaesthesia. We will trial our package on target audiences including partners in Local Education Authorities (with government oversight of schools) and the National Health Service. We will take our test-package to proof of concept by establishing technical feasibility, usability, and commercialisation. We have explored our market with an award that engaged the Sussex Innovation Centre, experts in market exploration. In summary, there is a pressing need to produce a commercialised test kit for childhood synaesthesia, for use by clinicians, education professionals and parents. This would address the striking lack of provision for children with synaesthesia, bringing benefits to synaesthetes, parents, educators, and clinical practice.
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ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantIstituzione ospitante
BN1 9RH Brighton
Regno Unito