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Hospitals Are Betting On AI To Transform Neurological Diagnosis
Today, Israel-based Sheba Medical Center — the Middle East's largest medical facility and ranked among the world's top 10 hospitals — announced a joint venture with Revealense — the developer of a neurological-AI engine for analyzing and interpreting human behavior and cognitive state through video — that could bring neurological diagnostics into the home. Buoyed by AI, their idea is presented as both simple and radical all at once: A basic webcam, connected to an AI engine, could help families start assessments for autism or ADHD without ever setting foot in a clinic. Revealense supplies the behavioral-AI technology, Sheba brings the clinical expertise, and together they argue the result could be faster diagnoses, less bias and treatment plans shaped around everyday behavior.
ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate), Sheba's innovation arm, has already become one of the most active hospital-led incubators of medical technology. This new venture is part of its wider ambition to pull medicine closer to patients — to close the distance and shorten the delays that have long defined access to specialist care.
'The collaboration with Revealense exemplifies Sheba and ARC's unique innovation model — which brings together clinicians on the ground, technological excellence and robust infrastructure to establish entrepreneurial initiatives,' said Avner Halperin, CEO of Sheba Impact at ARC, in the hospital's press release.
The Urgency
The pressure of autism assessments is real, so the appeal of such technology is easy to understand. Autism evaluations can take months, sometimes years, and the wait can feel endless for families. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2020 about one in 36 children aged 8 was identified with autism, and by 2022 that number had risen to one in 31. While parents are often urged to seek help as early as possible, they usually face year-long delays before receiving answers. ADHD, too, has seen a surge in diagnoses, particularly during the pandemic, when families and schools began paying closer attention to attention disorders and their impact on learning.
For parents navigating these waits, a tool that could offer a reliable first step from home is compelling. Earlier assessments mean earlier interventions, which are often the difference between a child thriving or falling behind. 'Beyond dramatically reducing the time needed for diagnosis, the venture also aims to enable earlier detection of syndromes, potentially allowing for initial assessments of autism and other conditions as early as 6 to 12 months of age,' explained Dr. Omer Bar Yosef, Director of the Child Development Center at Sheba Medical Center.
Between Potential And Proof
But bringing AI into such sensitive territory is not without challenges. Because Autism and ADHD assessments depend on a mix of structured interviews, observation across different environments and careful review of developmental history, assessing both conditions is rarely straightforward. So, without any doubts, turning that into an algorithm is quite complex and critics argue that context matters as much as raw behavior. A toddler's eye movements or gestures, for example, can mean different things depending on culture, language, or environment.
There are also several regulatory hurdles to cross. In the United States, for example, the Food and Drug Administration has made clear that AI-driven diagnostic tools will face strict scrutiny, especially those that involve children. In Europe, the AI Act imposes additional requirements for high-risk medical applications.
Although what Sheba and Revealense are proposing could reshape access to care, gaining approval across markets is a different game altogether and is often a long process. But both teams say they are well-prepared to go through the rigorous standards designed to protect patients and are confident that their experience in the space sets them apart from the herd.
Hospitals As AI Innovators
While this technology could potentially transform medical care globally, the bigger story here is about how hospitals themselves are starting to lead this kind of innovation. Sheba, for example, has built a portfolio of clinician-led startups that, according to the hospital, have already produced exits valued at nearly a billion dollars, with profits reinvested into new projects. Its ARC network now also stretches to more than 300 hospitals across 12 countries.
Sheba isn't alone in pushing hospitals into the innovation arena. In another example, researchers at Seoul-based Gangnam Severance Hospital and Yonsei University recently published a review on how generative AI might help not only with autism diagnosis but also with personalized treatment plans in real time. They described AI not as an optional add-on but as something that could work alongside clinicians — a partner rather than a product.
Increasingly, hospitals are diving into the world of R&D and creating new tools and systems to make medical care even better. That clinician-led model, which blends physician insight with entrepreneurial energy, is catching on very quickly and it could redefine how healthcare systems innovate going forward. As Dov Donin, cofounder and CEO of Revealense, noted, 'It's not just a new technology — it's a paradigm shift that can improve and even save lives, while elevating the entire diagnostics landscape.'
But if at-home neurological diagnostics do reach mainstream use in 2026, Sheba and Revealense will be remembered for pioneering a shift in how medicine is delivered. Even if the path is slower, the venture reflects how hospitals are beginning to see AI not as an external product to purchase, but as an internal capability to shape. For families waiting months for answers, that shift holds real promise.
For families waiting months for answers, that change holds promise. For healthcare itself, it suggests a new era where hospitals are not just sites of care but laboratories for the future of medicine.
