Akili Interactive’s EndeavorRx, previously known as Project EVO, became the first video game that is officially a medicine in the US. It was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be prescribed for children between ages eight and twelve years old who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Five clinical trials conducted over seven years studied more than 600 children diagnosed with ADHD. Here’s what the trials showed as cited by Akili:
After four weeks of EndeavorRx treatment, one-third of children no longer had a measurable attention deficit on at least one measure of objective attention. Further, about half of parents saw a clinically meaningful change in their child’s day-to-day impairments after one month of treatment with EndeavorRx; this increased to 68% after a second month of treatment. Improvements in ADHD impairments following a month of treatment with EndeavorRx were maintained for up to a month.
EndeavorRx is built on the Akili Selective Stimulus Management engine (SSMETM) core technology, a proprietary technology designed for the targeted activation of specific neural systems in the brain to treat diseases with associated cognitive dysfunction. The game is distributed via the developer’s website and requires a prescription. Akili notes that EndeavorRx treatment is not designed to be a substitute for ADHD medication. Moreover, it comes with its own set of side effects such as frustration and headache.
The title is available on iOS devices.