People afflicted with bipolar disorder must live with the fact that at any moment, they could launch into a major depressive or manic mental state. These mood swings can be so severe that dangerous, erratic behavior including suicide attempts can result. Researchers at the University of Michigan, however, are developing something that could prove to be very helpful. It’s an Android app that listens to a patient’s phone conversations, and detects the signs of oncoming mood swings in their voice.
Known as the PRIORI app, it constantly runs in the background on the patient’s smartphone, recording all calls placed or received on the device, including weekly check-in calls with the patient’s care team. By analyzing the patient’s voice, it’s able to identify subtle changes in their speech patterns, that are associated with the imminent onset of manic or depressive episodes.
via Gizmag
