Back when I first profiled Neuro+ for ExitEvent in July, I remember thinking it was incredibly refreshing to see a startup treating kids with ADHD in such a nuanced way—through gaming, so kids can train their attention by piloting their own dragons.
And since September, the venture-backed Windows and Mac desktop application has been available to the public for $499 per year, a price including the neuroheadset which measures performance in the dragon-themed game by recording brain waves.
The young startup’s team has a lot to celebrate. About 100 families are already using the product and mobile versions of the desktop application will launch for iOS and Android before the end of the year.
Neuro+ has also recently gained momentum, winning Challenge Cup Durham, a local competition for the global social impact startup contest hosted by Washington D.C. accelerator 1776. The team competed against 18 entrepreneurs from around the region and took home $50,000 last week. Neuro+ also will advance to the regional New York City competition in March 2016, where it could get a chance to move on to a world competition in D.C. next May.
Dr. Byrne says the results showed that about half the people felt like the program helped their attention and focus. The other half didn’t think it helped much subjectively, but there were other results to suggest they improved like a decrease in need for medication or an improved attention score on the computer test.
“I believe that the system will be a good non-medication treatment option for patients with ADHD who desire to improve their attention and focus,” says Dr. Byrne.
Back when I interviewed Stauch in July, he said something that immediately struck me. He compared his company’s mission to something whitewater rafting instructors tell rafters right before their journey into the water: “Be a part of your own rescue.”
“We’re proud to have built a product that can have such a positive impact on people’s lives,” adds Stauch.
