Sonde Health and the Cognitive Behavior Institute (CBI) have teamed up to study the effectiveness of Sonde’s Mental Fitness app as an engagement and monitoring tool for patients with depression and anxiety to help health systems and wellness service providers enhance patient care.
The study will use Sonde Mental Fitness, a voice-enabled mental health detection and monitoring technology that analyzes the sound of patients’ voices to evaluate aspects of mental well-being. By combining voice recordings, patient symptoms, and medical data, this research will enable Sonde to continue to improve its vocal biomarker models for depression and mental health monitoring. Additionally, the study will evaluate the effectiveness of Sonde Mental Fitness in augmenting treatment for depression and other mental health issues, increasing patient engagement in their mental health care, and improving clinician workflow.
“In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25%, and the demand for mental health care persists today,” said Erik Larsen, PhD, Vice President of Product Validation for Sonde Health and principal investigator for the study. “Along with CBI, we aim to uncover how vocal biomarkers can be implemented in therapy workflows to help clinicians meet the rising demand for mental health care and engage patients in their treatment for depression and even anxiety and other mental health conditions.”
Sonde Mental Fitness utilizes advanced audio signal processing technology to detect subtle changes in vocal features caused by changes in health. It also features an auto-transcription and journaling capability to give users more insight into their overall mental well-being. Therapists and mental health professionals gain access to real-time data to help monitor patients’ mental health even when patients are not in an office setting.
Following a pilot program in 2020, Sonde Health and CBI are working hand in hand to ensure Sonde Mental Fitness delivers on its promise and meets the needs of users and therapists.
The study will observe approximately 150 adult patients with at least one symptom of depression for three months. As part of their treatment, CBI will have patients use Sonde Mental Fitness once a day as a mental health check-in. Patients will be asked to record a 30-second voice-based journal entry or can respond to one of more than two dozen prompts of their choosing, such as “What is your favorite way to spend the day?” The app then will analyze patients’ voice samples and provide real-time symptom scores, which clinicians can access and monitor via an online dashboard.
As part of the study data, CBI will provide the primary and any secondary mental health diagnoses of patients as well as other relevant information related to their treatment, including presenting symptoms, duration of treatment, and pertinent assessment results. Sonde will also conduct monthly online clinical questionnaires (PHQ-9, GAD-7, and PDQ-5) to correlate with patients’ vocal biomarkers. Sonde Health will use the combined data to further refine its algorithm, improve the accuracy of its vocal biomarker technology, and enhance product features and the user experience.
“At CBI, we focus on innovative and evidence-based methods to improve patient treatment and outcomes,” said Lindsey Venesky, PhD, NCSP, Licensed Psychologist and Clinical Supervisor for CBI and sub-investigator for this research. “In conducting this joint study with Sonde Health, we will ensure we have a simple and effective patient monitoring tool that gives us more consistent and accurate insight into patient symptoms. Keeping up with the latest technologies and tools will help us accomplish our mission of providing the best possible healthcare for our clients.”
The study is already underway, with CBI recruiting participants through its three outpatient locations surrounding Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and virtually across the state.
About Sonde Health
Sonde Health has developed a vocal biomarker development platform that enables any enterprise to license Sonde’s existing products or create novel health detection and monitoring products from voice. Sonde scales data collection, feature development, model creation, and clinical validation in collaboration with its partners and customers. Leveraging over 1 million health-labeled voice samples from 80,000+ individuals, Sonde uses advanced audio signal processing and machine learning to sense and analyze subtle vocal changes due to changes in a person’s physiology to provide key insights into health and well-being.
About CBI
Cognitive Behavior Institute is an outpatient behavioral health practice delivering high-quality, evidenced based treatment to clients of all ages. Established in 2014, our services include psychotherapy, psychological testing, and medication management. CBI’s clinical team serves approximately 6,000 clients per month offering in-person appointments at one of our three Pittsburgh, PA locations, or virtually throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
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