From: logon23x@gmail.com   
      
   Under 30 MAY 24, 2016 @ 08:00 AM10,843    
   The Rise Of Digital Technology In Mental Health   
      
   Tori Utley ,    CONTRIBUTOR   
       
      
      
   The question “How are you feeling?” is one of the more common inquiries of   
   a person’s life. Yet, mood has been difficult to quantify and understand   
   through technology due to the many factors that go into a person’s mood and   
   the uniqueness of mood    
   constructs among individuals. However, as cognitive technology and artificial   
   intelligence continue to advance, humans may be able to understand mood and   
   mental health in a new way – through the power of our smartphones. From   
   machine learning to    
   enhanced mobile capabilities, there is more opportunity to put ideas to the   
   test with digital technology than ever before.   
      
      
   With the announcement of Apple’s ResearchKit in March 2015, developers and   
   health care professionals have been working to develop applications that   
   leverage the functionality of the smartphone to aid in research – whether   
   that’s using sensors,    
   facial recognition, accelerometer or GPS tracking. In addition to Apple’s   
   ResearchKit and functionality, IBM Watson and the cognitive technology it   
   offers have created opportunities to put the evolving phenomenon of machine   
   learning to the test in    
   initiatives to advance the level of cognition in the technology we use in our   
   day-to-day lives.   
      
   For those in the mental health industry, this is an important innovation.   
   Today, approximately 1 out of every 5 adults in the U.S. experiences mental   
   illness, equating to 43.8 million people. Of that number, it’s known that   
   millennials – specifically    
   those aged 18-25 – have the highest prevalence of experiencing a depressive   
   episode. From depression to anxiety to other mood disorders, NAMI estimates   
   that serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per   
   year. The need for    
   innovation exists, and the time is now.   
      
      
   Beyond mental illness and mood disorders, mood is an important factor of life   
   for all of society. Human beings strive for wellness of body and mind – we   
   want to feel good, be happy and live well.   
      
   What’s In Play?   
      
   Responding to industry prompts and opportunities to innovate in the mental   
   health space, many startups or initiatives have emerged to bring the   
   technology of today to one of our society’s most pressing issues.   
      
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   Eliza: Gathering the attention of tech lovers this spring, the IBM   
   Watson-powered Android application analyzes speech to determine a person’s   
   mental state. Users simply tell Eliza how they’re feeling, and the   
   technology analyzes sentiments to    
   aggregate data and offer insights to users.   
   Saker: Using Apple’s ResearchKit functionality, this app tracks a person’s   
   gait to test how scared or apprehensive a user is feeling.   
   Autism & Beyond: Also using Apple ResearchKit, this Duke University initiative   
   uses facial recognition technology to help in early-stage autism screening.   
   Quartet: A Google Ventures-backed company, Quartet has developed a   
   collaborative behavioral health platform that aggregates data and analyzes   
   trends between physical health and behavioral health, linking patients with a   
   health care provider, evidence-   
   based approaches and individualized plans.   
   What’s Coming?   
      
      
   In addition to the applications already in the works, Robert Wood Johnson   
   Foundation has launched the Mood Challenge, calling on proposals for   
   innovative ideas to research mood. The challenge focuses on Apple’s   
   ResearchKit functionality to bring    
   solutions to the mental health industry and to test how mood impacts wellness.   
   Beyond this challenge, mental health has been an area of interest for many   
   investment groups, with recent high-dollar investments in mental health   
   including startup Lantern,    
   raising $17M in a series B this year, Talkspace raising 9.5M in 2015, and   
   Quartet raising $40M in a series B funding round this year. It is apparent   
   that the technological framework exists to continue inventing more robust   
   mental health apps for users,    
   while financial interest remains strong.   
      
   For all clinicians, statisticians, developers and mental health innovators,   
   now is the time to think big and test ideas to improve mental health and   
   well-being. Through innovations in smartphone technology and capabilities of   
   cognitive learning in    
   technology, we can learn more about mood both societally and clinically – a   
   goal that can help millions of people every year through technology we hold in   
   our hands every day.   
      
      
   https://www.forbes.com/sites/toriutley/2016/05/24/the-rise-of-co   
   nitive-technology-in-mental-health/#230889e246a1   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)