BrainCheck Awarded $500K NIH SBIR Phase I Grant to Advance eConsult Platform for Cognitive Care

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BrainCheck, the leading FDA Class II digital cognitive assessment and care platform, has been awarded a $500,000 SBIR Phase I grant (R43AG094410) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop and evaluate BrainCheck eConsult, an innovative web-based platform that connects primary care providers (PCPs) with dementia specialists to improve the diagnosis and management of cognitive impairment.

The project aims to close the gap between screening and specialty evaluation by enabling secure, asynchronous communication between PCPs and neurologists, geriatricians, or other cognitive specialists. This rapid, low-cost consultation process can help physicians confirm diagnoses, interpret test results, and plan next steps for patients showing signs of memory decline — without requiring an immediate in-person referral.

“Primary care providers are on the front lines of identifying cognitive changes, yet access to specialists remains a major barrier,” said Mary Patterson, VP of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at BrainCheck. “This NIH-funded study allows us to create a practical, scalable solution that helps providers get expert input faster and improve patient care.”

The BrainCheck eConsult platform will be integrated directly within BrainCheck Assess, enabling physicians to submit consultation requests immediately after reviewing cognitive test results. Specialists will review cases asynchronously and provide written recommendations through a secure, HIPAA-compliant interface. Both referring and consulting providers will be able to bill for their time using existing CPT codes (99451 and 99452).

“This grant supports the next step in our mission to make cognitive health care more accessible and efficient,” said Chris Loughlin, CEO of BrainCheck. “By connecting primary care and specialists within the same platform, we can shorten the diagnostic journey for patients and support earlier, more accurate intervention.”

The NIH funding will support design, development, and feasibility testing of the eConsult prototype over the next year, with future plans for EHR integration and AI-powered clinical decision support to triage cases at scale. Katherine Carroll Britt, PhD, MSN, RN, from the University of Iowa will lead the qualitative aims of the study for the co-design of the eConsult platform, and Nathan Bell, MD, from Frontier Psychiatry will lead the pilot study to evaluate the tool in real-world clinical practice.

About BrainCheck

BrainCheck is an FDA Class II–cleared digital platform for cognitive assessment and care, used by over 500 healthcare organizations nationwide, including Bon Secours, UPMC, and Springfield Clinic. Clinicians use BrainCheck’s validated screeners and care planning tools to create tailored protocols, completing more than 400,000 cognitive assessments to date. BrainCheck is not intended for use as a stand-alone diagnostic tool.