SST301: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of the most Commonly Studied Developmental Disabilities To Meet the Clinical Diagnostic Criteria for ASDs: Strategic Management of Technology Assignment, SUSS, Singapore

ASSIGNMENT QUESTION

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of the most commonly studied developmental disabilities. To meet the clinical diagnostic criteria for ASDs, individuals must have persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction as well as evidence of restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities.

ASD commonly cooccurs with other neurodevelopmental symptoms including language disorders, intellectual disability, sleep disorders, and epilepsy. It represents complex persistent neurodevelopmental differences that can typically be diagnosed before the age of 3 years.

Research on the causes of ASD is ongoing, but cumulative evidence points to ASD being due to a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. The heritability of ASD is estimated to be between 40-80%, and several hundred individual genes have been linked to autism.

A recent surveillance program (the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network) across 11 sites in the United States determined a prevalence of ASD of 18.5 per 1,000 children aged 8, that is around one in 54 children. ASD is more commonly diagnosed in males than females.

For example, ASD was diagnosed 4.3 times more often in boys than in girls, according to the ADDM study. ASD occurs in all ethnic groups. Specialist doctors usually diagnose it, and several screening tools can be applied by a primary care physician.

However, a definitive diagnosis requires a comprehensive developmental evaluation. These evaluations are usually done by a trained developmental paediatrician, child psychologist, or trained allied health specialist. In addition, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and EEG signals are being explored as objective measures for early ASD diagnosis.

A venture capitalist, recognising that Singapore is an ageing society, would like to invest S$50 million in a start-up company that manufactures a portable diagnostic tool to automatically diagnose autism. This innovative technology has an in-built algorithm that could automatically make a diagnosis in real-time of the condition of the child’s brain. The diagnosis outcome is either normal or autistic (even at an early stage).

This diagnostic tool will be especially useful to conduct mass brain screening of children. The proposed system should be simple to use, non-invasive, reliable and fully automated. It should have an automated identification accuracy of more than 95% and is, therefore, suitable for use in clinical settings such as mental health hospitals.

Early detection could enable the patients to receive proper treatment and thus impede the progression of the disease. Set up a detailed plan to show how you can introduce this technology to the market with a fund of S$50 million. The plan has to include all the unique functions of the diagnostic system and the reasons for the development of these functions. You should plan for this diagnostic tool to be profitable within two years. Your plan should be cohesive and written as a report with proper referencing. Evaluate your research of strategic