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BIO-READ-BACK:
Fox promotes a way to retrain brains.
Courtesy Michael Fox |
It looks a bit
like a scene out of a science fiction flick: a man sits facing a
computer, while a monitor tracks his heart rate. Moving, flashing
lights—synchronized to the user’s heartbeats—appear on the screen. The
man mouses through an exercise, pointing and clicking on designated
spots. The flashing lights are designed to reprogram the man’s brain.
This
is BrightStar, a high-tech treatment for dyslexia, and businessman
Michael Fox, who majored in industrial engineering at Stanford, is
leading efforts to commercialize this program.
After
working a few years at Goldman Sachs, Fox, a married father of three,
started an investment and management company. Epoch Innovations sought
to capitalize on health technologies. In 1999, Fox came across the work
of some Israeli scientists who were using lights to stimulate specific
portions of the brain. Their technology creates a visual stimulation
field tailored to the individual user who performs designated tasks
that exercise and strengthen specific parts of the brain, enabling them
to process information more efficiently. The market is big: an
estimated one in 10 Americans has dyslexia, and many of the existing
treatments, such as intensive tutoring, still can leave dyslexics
lagging several years behind their peers.
At
BrightStar, potential customers go through an extensive assessment to
see whether this biofeedback program is likely to help them. About 80
percent of those tested are encouraged to sign up for a six-week course
of biofeedback sessions and tutoring costing from $1,600 to $2,500.
The
company says it has helped more than 1,000 customers at its centers in
London and Palo Alto and that most clients improve their reading
ability by two grade levels, as measured by standard literacy tests.
Customers who aren’t satisfied are offered a full money-back guarantee;
Fox says about 3 percent of the clients have requested refunds.
Some
veteran voices in the treatment of dyslexia have raised concerns about
BrightStar, saying the program has not been adequately tested. Tom
Viall, former executive director of the International Dyslexia
Association in Baltimore, told the San Jose Mercury News, “IDA
is never going to say we’re against research or trying something new,”
Viall said. “What we’re against is creating false hope.”
Fox
says his company provides “probably the most scientific treatment out
there.” Indeed, he believes it would be remiss to delay BrightStar’s
progress in the marketplace. And he points to studies that back the
company’s claim of success, including one by Sam Savage, a consulting
professor in management science and engineering.
Fox
hopes to set up partnerships with private and government agencies, both
in the United States and overseas, to treat children and adults who are
hampered by their disability. “It is rare in life that you have an
opportunity to do well and do good at the same time,” he says. “It’s
such a great feeling . . . to know you are changing people’s lives.” |
