Dr. Cori Lathan
Neuroscientist and Engineer
Anthrotronix
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Biography

The Innovator Behind AnthroTronix and Its Leading Brain and Cognitive Technologies

Welcome to the high-tech world of neuroscientist, engineer, and innovator Corinna “Cori” Lathan. As Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the research and development firm, AnthroTronix, she is spearheading the development of medical technologies that are enhancing human health and performance.

Currently, she and her research team are focused on introducing DANA — a sophisticated software-based technology developed by AnthroTronix that enables health care professionals to measure and monitor subtle and acute changes in cognitive efficiency. This advance is helping to make checking brain function and brain vital signs as easy as taking our temperature or measuring blood pressure.

“Today as health care systems focus on wellness, prevention, earlier at-risk intervention, and home-based health care — regular screening for cognitive efficiency is a valuable tool for primary care providers, emergency departments, mental health practitioners, and integrative care systems,” says Cori as she explains the importance of DANA.

In these settings, she adds, regular screening for cognitive efficiency may prove useful in a wide range of situations, including: tracking changes in cognitive performance over time; determining the onset of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s, and screening for such conditions as depression, insomnia and fatigue. Cori adds that measuring a “brain vital” may also prove useful for tracking recovery after a head injury or quantifying the efficacy of medication.

In the realm of medicine and health care, AnthroTronix is involved in another key undertaking — the SUrgical Skills Training and Assessment INstrument (SUSTAIN), which the company is developing under a grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) grant to support training and retention of specialized surgical skills among military surgeons while these physicians are serving on deployment. “Typically,” says Cori, “when military surgeons are deployed, they perform a wide variety of combat casualty and trauma surgery procedures; however, specialized procedures, such as laparoscopy, are not performed during typical deployments, and thus, these skills are susceptible to deterioration.”

Through SUSTAIN, she and her team have developed simulation-based technology that allows military surgeons to practice and sharpen skills in laparoscopy and other procedures in deployed settings.

Cori, who holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from MIT, founded AnthroTronix in 1999, bringing with her a diverse background in research, teaching, and consulting in the areas of human performance engineering, medical device design, and assistive technology.

“I love my work,” she says with a smile. “Opti­miz­ing the human-technology inter­face requires an intel­li­gent appli­ca­tion of brain sci­ence, tech­ni­cal lit­er­acy, and a big dose of entre­pre­neur­ial inno­va­tion.” All three of these elements, she adds, “are by def­i­n­i­tion mov­ing tar­gets and require me and our team to be con­stantly learn­ing and apply­ing what we learn to new prob­lems to solve.”

Cori is also Founder of AT KidSystems, a brand of AnthroTronix, which distributes alternative computer interfaces and educational software. Her work with children with disabilities and robotics has been featured in Forbes, Time, and the New Yorker magazines as well as led to such distinctions as Maryland’s “Top Innovator of the Year,” MIT Technology Review Magazine’s “Top 100 World Innovators,” and one of Fast Company Magazine’s “Most Creative People in Business.” She has also been named a Technology Pioneer and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and is currently the Chair of their Global Agenda Council for Artifical Intelligence and Robotics.

Active in the community, Cori is involved in various educational outreach programs that empower women and minorities in science and technology. She is the Founder of Keys to Empowering Youth for junior high school girls, an advisor to the FIRST and VEX robotics program, and a Board Member of Engineering World Health and the National Black Child Development Institute.

In addition to her Ph.D., she holds an M.S. degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biopsychology and Mathematics from Swarthmore College.

For more information, please visit:  http://www.anthrotronix.com/