England (Commonwealth Union) – As Artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances with greater interest and research, AI is set to make further entry into more applications of our everyday lives.
Researchers hope to implement AI technology with face and voice recognition to help recognize and forecast depression in pregnant females and new mothers, which has received funding for its production as a clinical tool.
The University of Nottingham Spin out firm BlueSkyeye AI Ltd has obtained £3.4 million (roughly 3.9 million US dollars) to proceed with its goal of enhancing quality of life via the use of its proprietary face and voice analysis technology with the creation of a tool to assist in diagnosing peri and post-natal depression.
Perinatal mental health issues take place during pregnancy or the 1st year following the child birth and affect up to 27 percent of new and expectant mums, covering a wide range of conditions. However, researchers have seen that negative attitudes and stigma towards diagnosis and treatment can lead to women refraining from seeking help.
Researchers created the Avacado app, which implements face and voice recognition to forecast the indicators of depression in women from 3 months pregnant to 6 months post-partum. The app is capable of marking facial muscle actions, speech rate and tone of voice, which is then transferred to the AI technology, alongside questionnaire data to analyze emotional state and deliver an indication of the risk of depression.
The app is currently used as an indicator of continuing low mood, which developers hope to take to the next level for clinical diagnosis.
Professor Michel Valstar, the Co-Founder and CEO at BlueSkeye AI and Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham said: “The demand for alternative pathways to access mental healthcare is enormous, and continues to grow by the day.” He further indicated their aim is to disrupt traditional approaches to healthcare and improve life with particular attention to perinatal mental health.
