An interesting interview on RNZ discussing a topic that I am currently covering in my thesis - the use of (vocal) digital biomarkers in predicting common mental health conditions.
Fascinating on a software engineering perspective. As a healthcare professional, to be able to research this from a clinician perspective of validity in assessment and diagnostics, especially with vulnerable populations like mental health cohorts.
Watch this space!
Thanks @Karishma digital biomarkers is super interesting! In addition to AI based speech analysis for mental health I reckon just analysing one’s social media activity should give more reliable and objective clues; e.g. depressed people will simply stop posting on FB or Instagram or if they do they’ll do it less often and most likely have a different sentiment etc. I would even argue that these clues would be more reliable and much easier to collect than having a psychologist interview or administering PROMs. I always wonder why there’s so little emphasis and research on this!
Thank you for your reply Koray! It is very interesting, and great you mentioned about social media - a research proposal I did as an early grad student was on social reinforcement via social media (for those with depression). I think because it is such a new avenue of research and there is still a lot of work to consider with the ethics and validity of digital biomarkers, however with so many avenues of voice assisted software, I think this is going to be emphasized greatly! (I hope so anyway because it has many positive clinical implications!)
Sounds really interesting and potentially a huge scope, as though another medium for diagnosing / detecting signs of disease or disorders (learning, personality etc.)?
Absolutely! I think there has been some work on ASD and ADHD (which I am also personally interested in) so rightly so, I think the scope is large! Thank you for replying!
Hi @Karishma - our company is very focussed on nuerodiversity, and I’m interested in whether you have published anything on ASD/ADHD and social media. Can you post some references or links please.
Thanks
K
Hi @keithduddy Thank you for your reply! Great to hear your company has a strong emphasis on neurodiversity - unfortunately I haven’t, but it is certainly a scope I would be interested in researching - would be great to hear more about the company and your specific focuses!