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EP-4739200-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD OF TREATING TICS IN A SUBJECT

EP4739200A1EP 4739200 A1EP4739200 A1EP 4739200A1EP-4739200-A1

Abstract

Embodiments of a system and method of treating tics in a subject, by at least one processor, may include: displaying an audiovisual stimulus to the subject, and obtaining indication of onset of tic sequences in the subject. The tic sequences may include one or more tics, subsequent to the audiovisual stimulus display. Embodiments of the invention may calculate one or more tic property values, representing one or more respective characteristics of the tic sequences, and subsequently adjust the audiovisual stimulus in real time, based on the one or more tic property values, so as to encourage the subject to prolong time gaps between subsequent tic sequences.

Inventors

  • LEITNER, Yael
  • HENDLER, TALMA
  • DAVIDOVITCH, Shiri
  • ROTSTEIN, MICHAEL
  • RAZ, GAL

Assignees

  • Ichilov Tech Ltd.
  • Ramot at Tel-Aviv University Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240709

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A method of treating tics in a subject by at least one processor, the method comprising: displaying an audiovisual stimulus to the subject; obtaining indication of onset of one or more tic sequences in the subject, said tic sequences comprising one or more tics, subsequent to said display; calculating one or more tic property values, representing one or more respective characteristics of said tic sequences; and adjusting the audiovisual stimulus in real time, based on the one or more tic property values.
  2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining indication of onset of a tic sequence comprises: receiving, from a camera, audiovisual data depicting behaviour of the subject; extracting one or more behavioural features based on said audiovisual data; and applying a machine learning (ML) based algorithm on the one or more behavioural features to automatically determine onset of the tic sequence in the subject, based on said audiovisual data.
  3. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, wherein obtaining indication of onset of a tic sequence comprises: receiving, from a brain-computer interface (BCI) at least one biosignal representing brain activity in at least one of a dorsal striatum and a supplementary motor area of the subject; and analyzing said at least one biosignal to automatically determine onset of the tic sequence in the subject.
  4. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein displaying an audiovisual stimulus comprises providing a computerized gaming platform, configured to allow the subject to engage in a computer game.
  5. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein adjusting the audiovisual stimulus comprises: calculating a level of reward based on the one or more tic property values, so as to encourage the subject to prolong time gaps between subsequent tic sequences; and changing one or more parameters of the computer game based on the calculated level of reward.
  6. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, further comprising: producing a personalized training regimen for controlling tics, wherein the training regimen comprises calculated levels of reward specifically tailored for the subject; and applying the personalized training regimen in a subsequent engagement of the subject with the computer game.
  7. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the tics are selected from motoric tics and vocal tics, and wherein the property values are selected from a list consisting of: a duration of at least one tic sequence, a number of tics in the tic sequence, a frequency of tics within the tic sequence, a complexity of tics within the tic sequence, an intensity of tics within the tic sequence, an interference of the tics within the tic sequence, an interval between successive tic sequences, and an average of intervals between successive tic sequences.
  8. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, further comprising: obtaining an urge severity indication from the subject, via a user interface (UI), wherein said urge severity indication represents severity of an urge to tic; and adjusting the audiovisual stimulus in real time, further based on the urge severity indication.
  9. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, further comprising: obtaining a user engagement indication, wherein said user engagement indication represents a level of engagement of the subject in the audiovisual stimulus; and adjusting the audiovisual stimulus in real time, further based on the user engagement indication.
  10. 10. A system for treating tics in a subject, the system comprising: a non-transitory memory device, wherein modules of instruction code are stored; and at least one processor associated with the memory device, and configured to execute the modules of instruction code, whereupon execution of said modules of instruction code, the at least one processor is configured to: display an audiovisual stimulus to the subject; obtain indication of onset of one or more tic sequences in the subject, said sequences comprising one or more tics, subsequent to said display; calculate one or more tic property values, representing one or more respective characteristics of said tic sequences; and adjust the audiovisual stimulus in real time, based on the one or more tic property values.
  11. 11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a camera, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain indication of onset of a tic sequence by: receiving, from the camera, audiovisual data depicting behaviour of the subject; extracting one or more behavioural features based on said audiovisual data; and applying a machine learning (ML) based algorithm on the one or more behavioural features to automatically determine onset of the tic sequence in the subject, based on said audiovisual data.
  12. 12. The system according to any one of claims 10-11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain indication of onset of a tic sequence by: receiving, from a brain-computer interface (BCI) at least one biosignal representing brain activity in at least one of a dorsal striatum and a supplementary motor area of the subject; and analyzing said at least one biosignal to automatically determine onset of the tic sequence in the subject.
  13. 13. The system according to any one of claims 10-12, wherein the at least one processor is configured to display the audiovisual stimulus by providing a computerized gaming platform, configured to allow the subject to engage in a computer game.
  14. 14. The system according to any one of claims 10-13, wherein the at least one processor is configured to adjust the audiovisual stimulus by: calculating a level of reward based on the one or more tic property values, so as to encourage the subject to prolong time gaps between subsequent tic sequences; and changing one or more parameters of the computer game based on the calculated level of reward.
  15. 15. The system according to any one of claims 10-14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: produce a personalized training regimen for controlling tics, wherein the training regimen comprises calculated levels of reward specifically tailored for the subject; and apply the personalized training regimen in a subsequent engagement of the subject with the computer game.
  16. 16. The system according to any one of claims 10-15, wherein the at least one processor is configured to categorize according to at least one of motoric tics and vocal tics.
  17. 17. The system of claim 16 wherein the property values are selected from a list consisting of: a duration of at least one tic sequence, a number of tics in the tic sequence, a frequency of tics within the tic sequence, a complexity of tics within the tic sequence, an intensity of tics within the tic sequence, an interference of the tics within the tic sequence, an interval between successive tic sequences, and an average of intervals between successive tic sequences.
  18. 18. The system according to any one of claims 10-17, wherein the at least one processor is configured to provide a user interface (UI) allowing the subject to indicate, in real time, a severity of an urge to tic.
  19. 19. The system according to any one of claims 10-18 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain an urge severity indication from the subject, via the UI; and adjust the audiovisual stimulus in real time, further based on the tic urge severity indication.
  20. 20. The system according to any one of claims 10-19, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain, via the UI, a user engagement indication, representing a level of engagement of the subject in the audiovisual stimulus; and adjusting the audiovisual stimulus in real time, further based on the user engagement indication.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD OF TREATING TICS IN A SUBJECT CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [001] This application claims the benefit of priority of IL Patent Application No. 304342, titled “ SYSTEM AND METHOD OF TREATING TICS IN A SUBJECT”, filed July 9, 2023. The contents of all these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [002] The present invention relates generally to computer assisted diagnosis and treatment. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods of monitoring, and/or treating tics in a subject. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [003] Tics, encompassing motoric and vocal tics, are involuntary, repetitive movements or sounds that often occur in individuals with tic disorders. These tics can significantly impact the quality of life for affected individuals, causing discomfort and interfering with daily activities. Various approaches have been employed to address tics, including behavioral therapies and medication. However, there remains a need for more effective and personalized methods for managing tics. [004] Children in developed countries spend a significant portion of their waking hours consuming commercial audiovisual content and playing video games. The impact of media consumption on children's health and well-being has been widely studied, including its effects on tic disorders and Tourette syndrome. Studies have reported that tic frequency is enhanced during gaming and television watching. However, the latter activity was also found to decrease tics, leading to mixed findings. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [005] To gain a better understanding of the ways in which tics are affected by audiovisual media consumption, given its centrality in contemporary child's life, the inventors conducted a fine-grained analysis of the impact of movie and game elements on tic manifestation. Based on moment-to-moment tic annotation, the inventors found that temporal patterns of different individuals are significantly synchronized during film viewing despite substantial diversity in their tic profiles. Furthermore, employing a video game developed for the inventors’ study, the inventors found that tic frequency increases during anticipation for a pending reward. This finding was replicated in a second experiment with an independent cohort. [006] The impact of media consumption on the severity of Tic Disorders (TDs) has recently gained increasing attention with the peculiar case of "Tic Tok Tics". Rapid-onset complex motor and vocal tic-like behaviors, which were rarely reported before 2020, have been recently diagnosed in several countries in unprecedented numbers. Interestingly, these functional tic -like behaviors (FTLB) appeared mostly in individuals who reported on consumption of popular TikTok and YouTube videos depicting persons allegedly having Tourette's syndrome. It has been suggested that exposure to this specific video content via social media triggered this unexpected FTLB surge among susceptible individuals with anxiety and depressive symptoms. [007] Previous evidence suggested that media consumption may affect not only FTLB , but also tic manifestation in primary TD, which is significantly more common and have distinctive phenomenology and risk factors. Television content and video games have been mentioned among the most common tic antecedents that increase tic likelihood. At least four studies that examined television watching among other antecedents reported that it was among the most common tic triggers. One of these studies reported that video games are also leading tic antecedents. Thus, while the long-term impact of television and video games on TDs has yet to be scrutinized, accumulating evidence suggests that these media exacerbate tics in the short-term. [008] However, the evidence is not unanimous. A pilot study which continuously measured tics during the viewing of a commercial movie, reported that tic severity was highest not in the emotional moments, but rather during the less or non-cinematic periods including the baseline and opening and closing credits. Furthermore, while an aforementioned daily diary study found that 38% of individuals with TDs reported that passive attendance - including watching television - was a high-risk activity in terms of tic severity, even a higher rate of 45% of the sample categorized it as a low-risk activity. [009] This mixed finding has been interpreted as reflecting variability in the ways in which individuals with TDs react to tic antecedents such as movies and video games, indicating that while media exacerbate tics for some individuals, they alleviate them for others. However, an additional source of variance may account for the indecisive findings about the impact of media content on tic manifestation. Apart from the variability between individual's reaction to media, there is an extreme heterogeneity in movies and games in terms of the intensity of the tic triggers they introduce. For