Artificial Intelligence has been at the crux of Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab (SAIL) operations after AI proved to give accurate results. SAIL, in its recent collaboration with researchers from UCLA, is working on analyzing voice data of patients suffering from serious mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depressive disorders. How does AI detect mental health changes?
How is AI involved in patients’ mental health?
MyCoachConnect interactive is a voice and mobile tool used by patients and psychiatrists to record their voice diaries dependant on their mental health. After this collaboration, researchers will be using AI to listen to these voicemails and notice changes in their patients’ clinical states.
As told to ExpressHealthcare– “Machine learning allowed us to illuminate the various clinically-meaningful dimensions of language use and vocal patterns of the patients over time and personalized at each individual level,” said senior author Dr Shri Narayanan, Niki and Max Nikias Chair in Engineering and Director of SAIL at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
The importance of tracking changes
Mental health is a very delicate aspect of human life and must be handled with utmost care. Just like tracking the health condition of a person suffering from a physical ailment, detecting changes in thinking patterns and talking is vital. The psychologist/ psychiatrist is able to understand if they have diagnosed the patient for the correct ailment and if the treatment is working. After AI detects changes, improvement or degradation of the condition is noted.
What more could AI do for mental health?
Being a great support to mental health professionals, AI comes with the advantage of being available 24/7. It can be used to detect signs of depression or anxiety by assessing the language used on social media platforms. With its huge database, it will be able to recognize the first symptoms of a disorder in linguistic changes in the way a person writes or speaks.
There are already a few companies that provide AI-related mental health services such as chatbots that speak with a person to discuss their problems. The anonymity of the bot can make an individual more comfortable in opening up.
Use cases and predictions are many, what matters is how it reduces the growing discontent and anxiety faced by the youth across the world.