BlinkLab Partners with ESPOCH on Large-Scale Multicenter Ecuador Autism and Sensorimotor Study Program

Highlights

• Multi-center Study Program in Ecuador: BlinkLab has entered into a collaboration with Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH) to support Proyecto Wiñay, a large-scale study program investigating in autism, sensorimotor function and nutrition in Ecuadorian children and adolescents.
• ESPOCH-Funded Implementation: Proyecto Wiñay is funded by ESPOCH, and BlinkLab will be making its smartphone-based neurobehavioural assessment technology available for use in the study program.
• Strategic South American Opportunity: Ecuador records approximately 250,000 births annually, with more than 6,000 children potentially affected by autism each year based oncurrent global prevalence estimates. As autism becomes an increasing public health priority across South America, BlinkLab's smartphone-based platform is well positioned to address shortages of specialist clinicians and limited access to diagnostic services.
• Strategic Significance for BlinkLab: The ESPOCH collaboration complements BlinkLab's government-supported Morocco autism screening initiative and supports the Company's strategy for building regional reference sites through partnerships with clinicians, researchers and public health programs to roll out its proprietary autism assessment technology across nationwide healthcare systems. Together, these initiatives generate real-world evidence andcreate pathways for future commercial adoption of the platform.

BlinkLab Limited (ASX:BB1) (“BlinkLab” or the “Company”), a developer of AI-powered, smartphone-based neurobehavioural assessment technology, is pleased to announce a collaboration with Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (“ESPOCH”) in Ecuador to support Proyecto Wiñay, a nationwide study program investigating autism, sensorimotor function, nutrition and gut microbiota in Ecuadorian children and adolescents.

The collaboration further demonstrates international interest in BlinkLab’s technology for detecting and assessing neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, as well as its potential use across diverse medical and research settings, even at scale across nationwide healthcare systems. This collaboration follows BlinkLab’s previously announced involvement in Morocco’s nationwide autism screening initiative¹ and reinforces the Company’s view that there is an emerging global demand for scalable, objective and accessible tools that can support earlier identification, better research and more equitable access to care for conditions such as autism.

Strategic Significance for BlinkLab

South America represents an important long-term growth opportunity for BlinkLab. Ecuador records approximately 250,000 births per year and based on current autism prevalence estimates of around1 in 36 children, more than 6,000 children may be born with autism around the nation annually.Across South America, increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorder, improved diagnosis rates, and a growing government focus on early intervention are all driving demand for scalable and accessible assessment solutions. However, many countries continue to face significant shortages of specialist clinicians that are able to assess for such conditions, long diagnostic waitlists to see such specialists, and limited access pathways for services outside of major urban centres. BlinkLab believes smartphone-based assessment technologies are uniquely positioned to address these challenges and support earlier identification of children who may benefit from further evaluation and intervention.

The ESPOCH collaboration complements BlinkLab's previously announced government-supportedMorocco autism screening initiative, and further validates the Company's strategy surrounding partnerships with academic institutions, healthcare providers, and public health programs to establish regional reference sites that demonstrate the effectiveness of leveraging screening technology at scale for conditions such as autism that benefit significantly from early detection and intervention. Together, the initiatives across Morocco and Ecuador provide BlinkLab with exposure to two rapidly developing regions where demand for scalable neurodevelopmental assessment tools is growing. These programs will also assist BlinkLab in further tailoring and validating its technology through the generation of valuable real-world evidence, supporting local clinician engagement and creating pathways for future commercial adoption as governments and healthcare systems seek cost-effective solutions to improve autism screening and assessment at scale.

About the ESPOCH Nationwide Study Program

Proyecto Wiñay is a research program focused on malnutrition, alterations in the intestinal microbiota, and their relationship with neurobehavioural alterations in children with autism spectrum disorder in Ecuador.

The study protocol, co-authored by BlinkLab staff and published in Frontiers in Psychiatry², a peer reviewed open access journal focused on innovation in the field of psychiatry, describes a comparative cross-sectional study involving autistic children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 years and matched non-autistic peers, including children with other developmental conditions. The study is designed to investigate relationships between objectively measured sensorimotor integrationdifferences, dietary patterns, nutritional status and gut microbiota composition.

Autistic children experience disproportionately high rates of feeding and nutritional challenges compared to their non-autistic peers. Sensorimotor integration differences, including altered responses to sensory stimuli, are understood to play an important role in food selectivity, nutritional imbalance and broader health outcomes. The ESPOCH program is specifically designed to generate important data within the Ecuadorian context, where autism, child nutrition, and access to specialist assessment remain significant public health issues.

BlinkLab’s Role in the Program

Under the collaboration, BlinkLab will provide scientific and technical assistance, whilst making its smartphone-based neurobehavioural assessment technology available at no cost for use in Proyecto Wiñay. BlinkLab’s technology enables standardised, non-invasive assessment of sensorimotor function, including measures related to sensory gating, sensory adaptation and general sensorimotor behaviours. This objective approach is designed to complement traditional caregiver-reported measures, which can be affected by cultural, socioeconomic and subjective reporting factors.

Use of BlinkLab’s platform in this large-scale Ecuador program will support the collection of high quality neurobehavioural data in a real-world research setting. The program provides a further framework to assess the feasibility of smartphone-based assessments in public health, research,and clinical environments across Ecuador and other middle- and lower-income countries.

Professor Valeria Carpio, Principal Investigator at the Proyecto Wiñay program, commented:

“We thank BlinkLab for its support through the provision of objective neurobehavioral technology based on smartphones. This collaboration allows us to generate evidence in a real-world context in the country, where gaps in health access, nutrition, and early intervention pose significant challenges to public health. Studying autism in association with malnutrition and the gut microbiota is fundamental to understanding the specific characteristics of our population and designing more relevant interventions. BlinkLab's participation strengthens ESPOCH's research capacity and consolidates an international alliance aimed at improving the health outcomes of Ecuadorian children.”

Brian Leedman, Non-Executive Chairman of BlinkLab, commented:

“Ecuador represents another important example of the global need for accessible and scalable autism assessment technology. Following our national program in Morocco, this collaboration with ESPOCH further demonstrates the international relevance of BlinkLab’s smartphone-based platform. Autism is aglobal health issue, and healthcare systems are looking for practical tools that can support earlier identification, better research and more equitable access to care.”

Dr Henk-Jan Boele, Managing Director and CEO of BlinkLab, stated:

“Proyecto Wiñay is animportant program because it examines how sensorimotor function may relate to nutrition, gut microbiota and broader health outcomes in children with autism. BlinkLab is pleased to supportESPOCH through the provision of objective smartphone-based neurobehavioural technology. With studies now underway across Europe, Australia, the United States, Africa and South America, this collaboration further expands our global research footprint and demonstrates the broad applicability of our platform across diverse populations and healthcare settings.

Importantly, we expect to complete the full recruitment and assessment of approximately 300children within a matter of weeks. This demonstrates the strength of the infrastructure, partnerships and referral networks established by ESPOCH and participating clinical and educational centres.

The study will further demonstrate our ability to identify, recruit and assess children with autism efficiently in real-world settings while generating a valuable dataset for external validation of our autism model in a non-US population.

Beyond the scientific value, programs such as Proyecto Wiñay help establish regional reference sites, strengthen relationships with clinicians and researchers, and generate real-world evidence that supports the future adoption of scalable autism assessment technologies in underserved markets.”

The Material Terms of the Collaboration include:

• Parties: The collaboration is between BlinkLab Limited and Escuela Superior Politécnica deChimborazo.
• Framework agreement: BlinkLab and ESPOCH have entered into an inter-institutional cooperation framework covering activities of mutual interest, including academic, clinical, paediatric care, training, research, technological and social initiatives.
• Specific project agreement: The parties have entered into a specific agreement for the execution of Proyecto Wiñay, a nationwide Ecuador study program focused on malnutrition,gut microbiota and neurobehavioural alterations in children with autism spectrum disorder.
• Funding: The Wiñay project is funded by the Vice-Rectorate for Research and PostgraduateStudies of ESPOCH, under the state budget of the Higher Polytechnic School of Chimborazo in Ecuador.
• BlinkLab contribution: BlinkLab will provide scientific and technical assistance and make its smartphone-based neurobehavioural assessment technology available at no cost for use in the study program.
• Term: The specific project agreement has a term of two years from signing. The broader cooperation framework has a five-year term, subject to its terms.
• Intellectual property and data: BlinkLab retains ownership of its background technology and platform. Enhancements to BlinkLab’s background intellectual property made by the collaborating party will transfer to BlinkLab where permitted by law, or otherwise be subject to an exclusive, unconditional, perpetual, irrevocable, assignable and unrestricted right in favour of BlinkLab. BlinkLab will own all right, title and interest in data obtained through use of theApplication, and will have rights to collect, analyse and use information relating to the provision, use and performance of its back-end systems and related technologies, including for improvement, optimisation, development and diagnostic purposes, subject to applicable laws, ethics approvals and privacy requirements.
• Revenue: The collaboration is not intended to generate immediate revenue for BlinkLab. The program is intended to support research, real-world evidence generation and broaderinternational engagement with the Company’s technology.

The agreements otherwise contain terms and conditions that are considered standard for agreements of this nature.

References

1) ASX Announcement (23 March 2026) - “BlinkLab Selected for Morocco’s Nationwide Government-Funded Autism Screening Program”

2) https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1721567/full