In Thessaloniki, Greece, researchers have developed the first biological test for diagnosing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These scientists analyzed the eye movements in young children and discovered that 93.1% of the results they got were correctly diagnosed. During this ten minute test, the children wore special goggles and were told to concentrate on different spots of light on the screen. Those without ADHD could focus anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. However, those who did have ADHD could barely focus for 5 seconds. This new technology is a break through in the medical field. Not only can children with ADHD be diagnosed sooner, but they can be treated earlier on as well.

It was shocking to learn that 80% of the population who suffer from ADHD still remain undiagnosed. With this new technology, I believe that many more people will seek out diagnoses. The test is much more legitimate than talking with a psychologist or other doctor. However, this technology is still a new development and there hasn’t been time for it to be proven as accurate without any flaws. The scientists in Greece only tested 65 children. This is a small number when one compares it to the population that suffers from ADHD. In order for this computer test to be a reliable assessment of ADHD it has to be generally accepted by the scientific community.

The biological test for ADHD does hold some promise in it though. Doctor Pavlidis explains that a symptom of ADHD is premature movement. Many of the patients began to move their eyes before the light was even displayed. Pavlidis is also working on creating a test to show whether patients will act positively toward drug treatment such as Ritalin. Hopefully this new technology will spread to the United States where we can utilize it in our own medical community and help advance the effectiveness of it through our own research.

The first biological test for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder has been developed. The researchers claim the diagnosis, based on examination of eye movements, is more than 93% accurate and could lead to earlier identification and treatment for children with the condition. Scientists analysed the eye movements of 65 children aged between four and six in Thessaloniki, Greece. About half of the children had been diagnosed as having ADHD through the standard method of psychological assessment and the use of questionnaires. The children were placed in front of a computer screen while wearing special goggles to monitor their eye movements and asked to use their eyes to "lock-on to" and follow spots of light that traversed the screen during a 10-minute test.

"Children with ADHD show large difference in eye movements compared with normal children. For example, those without ADHD could follow the light spot for 30 seconds to as much as five minutes, whereas the children with the disorder could only follow the stimulus for about three to five seconds," says Giorgos Pavlidis at University of Brunel, UK, who led the study. The group analysed eye movements according to various criteria, these included fixation on the stimulus, saccades - jerking between two focal points - and smooth pursuit. The computer was able to correctly diagnose 93.1% of the children. Early intervention