MIT’s new technology could be a breakthrough for diagnosing depression

Researchers at MIT have come up with a solution that could diagnose depression very accurately.

With an ever increase in suicide rates globally, diagnosing mental health conditions right from the beginning has become all the more important. People often hesitate consulting therapists or even talking about it in open. At present, when people are encouraged to break the taboo of talking about mental health through various agencies, it still feels that we are not doing enough.

In some instances, people suffering from a mental condition seek help just when they are on the verge of giving up. Some of them yield to the misery hence taking their life.

What is it about?

In order to provide a channel that accommodates every type of patients, researchers at MIT have come up with a solution. They have created a neural-network model that can sense depression by analyzing the patient’s oral as well as audio response. It does so by looking for patterns in the person’s responses. Dig little deeper from MIT’s press release.

What is even more intriguing is the fact that it does not need specific questions for evaluation. Regardless of the type of questions asked, the machine analyses and sources tell that the results are pretty accurate.

Still confused how does it do it?

Here’s what we know so far:

Basically, your day-to-day interactions are holistically evaluated. On the basis of all of it, a report is made. The researchers say that they fully understand that every patient is unique. Therefore, the thought process behind making this neural model is to focus on the responses the patient has to ‘context-free’ questions. This makes sure that even in cases where the patient is extremely sensitive and alert, the questions don’t make them uncomfortable. And this is very critical as every patient’s comfort level is a top priority for a more accurate diagnosis.

The project has gained a lot of attention and rumor has it that it may attract investors. This is a project one of its kind.

What do we think

The robo-therapist could prove to be a breakthrough in the field of therapy as well as technology. Even the therapists can use it as an assisting tool. Whether used alone or with some other form of therapy, the technology gives accurate results as much as possible.

This is just a step that is capable of opening many doors in the field of therapy.

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