Computer vision tools for low-cost and noninvasive measurement of autism-related behaviors in infants.
Abstract
The early detection of developmental disorders is key to child outcome, allowing interventions
to be initiated which promote development and improve prognosis. Research on autism
spectrum disorder (ASD) suggests that behavioral signs can be observed late in the
first year of life. Many of these studies involve extensive frame-by-frame video observation
and analysis of a child's natural behavior. Although nonintrusive, these methods are
extremely time-intensive and require a high level of observer training; thus, they
are burdensome for clinical and large population research purposes. This work is a
first milestone in a long-term project on non-invasive early observation of children
in order to aid in risk detection and research of neurodevelopmental disorders. We
focus on providing low-cost computer vision tools to measure and identify ASD behavioral
signs based on components of the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI). In particular,
we develop algorithms to measure responses to general ASD risk assessment tasks and
activities outlined by the AOSI which assess visual attention by tracking facial features.
We show results, including comparisons with expert and nonexpert clinicians, which
demonstrate that the proposed computer vision tools can capture critical behavioral
observations and potentially augment the clinician's behavioral observations obtained
from real in-clinic assessments.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9547Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1155/2014/935686Publication Info
Hashemi, Jordan; Tepper, Mariano; Vallin Spina, Thiago; Esler, Amy; Morellas, Vassilios;
Papanikolopoulos, Nikolaos; ... Sapiro, Guillermo (2014). Computer vision tools for low-cost and noninvasive measurement of autism-related behaviors
in infants. Autism Res Treat, 2014. pp. 935686. 10.1155/2014/935686. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9547.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Geraldine Dawson
William Cleland Distinguished Professor
Geraldine Dawson is the William Cleland Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences at Duke University, where she also is a Professor of Pediatrics
and Psychology & Neuroscience. Dawson also is the Director of the Duke Center for
Autism and Brain Development, an NIH Autism Center of Excellence, which is an interdisciplinary
research program and clinic, aimed to improve the lives of those diagnosed with autism
through research, education, clinical services, and poli
Guillermo Sapiro
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Guillermo Sapiro received his B.Sc. (summa cum laude), M.Sc., and Ph.D. from the Department
of Electrical Engineering at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, in 1989,
1991, and 1993 respectively. After post-doctoral research at MIT, Dr. Sapiro became
Member of Technical Staff at the research facilities of HP Labs in Palo Alto, California.
He was with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University
of Minnesota, where he held the position of Distinguished McKni
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