New test boosts accuracy, efficiency of detecting ADHD

SYDNEY - The accuracy and efficiency of identifying Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the young could improve by 30 percent, thanks to a new testing method.

Its symptoms are poor attention span, distraction, failure to follow instructions, getting easily bored, difficulty with details, careless mistakes, forgetfulness and hyperactivity among others.

The University of Sydney (U-S) researchers, based at Westmead Millennium Institute, trialed the efficacy of specific brain function related tests in detecting ADHD in 175 children/adolescents with ADHD and 175 normal counterparts.

They found they could pinpoint young people with ADHD with 96 percent accuracy through the tests, which detected variations in sustained attention, impulsivity, inhibition, intrusions and response variability.

This accuracy also means that unaffected children or adolescents are not detected falsely. Previous tests that focus only on attention have only been able to identify ADHD with around 70 percent accuracy.

The tests were conducted using a computer tool which has been developed by Brain Resource, based on evidence from a global database.

The tool helps identify patients through game-like tasks that challenge the brain, putting it under increasing load to see how it performs.

With computerisation, the variations in ADHD can be detected with much greater efficiency, making this information a lot more accessible to the clinician for their decision-making.

Leanne Williams, the U-S professor of cognitive neuropsychiatry, said the research showed that accurate and efficient assessment of ADHD could be achieved through cognitive testing in a way that can be translated into clinical practice, said an U-S release.

“Our study has shown for the first time that there is a biological basis to ADHD which can be reliably tested to diagnose it,” Williams said.

These findings appear in the February edition of Paediatric Neurology.