App detects mental status via speech
The app monitors both physical and psychological symptoms on a regular basis
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-11-03 02:24 GMT
Washington: A new smartphone app can analyse your speech and use it to gain information about your mental health, scientists say. Researchers from the University of Maryland in the US showed that certain vocal features change as patients’ feelings of depression worsen.
The app monitors both physical and psychological symptoms on a regular basis and provide both patients and mental health providers with feedback.
The study assessed patients’ depression levels each week using the Hamilton Depression Scale (a standard clinical evaluation tool to measure the severity of depression) and then recorded them speaking freely about their day.