They create an app that detects mental illnesses through the cell phone camera: how it works

A team of scientists has just developed an application that can detect mental illnesses by combining cell phone cameras with an artificial intelligence system.

Regard Mood capturea system under development that can identify symptoms of depression from images that capture the face.

The project is led by researchers at Dartmouth University in New Hampshire. It has not been released yet, but during testing it achieved a success rate of 75%, although it should reach the 90% be vital.

For diagnosis, the app connects to the front camera of the mobile phone during the day and records several shots, in particular the user’s gestures and gaze.

The AI ​​takes into account physical aspects such as eye movement or head position and also the environment the person is in, whether they are alone or what the lighting is like in the place they are in.

It then processes and analyzes them to detect behaviors or gestures associated with the file first symptoms depression or some other mental health illness.

One of the creators of the application, Subigya Nepal, offered in X some details on the tests carried out and the results obtained.

It indicates that more than “125,000 photographs of 177 participants diagnosed with severe depression” were analyzed so that the application would learn to distinguish between “depressive states and non-depressive states.”

The researchers point out that, in general, people still find it very difficult to turn to a psychologist, and for this reason they are confident that the application can help diagnose diseases that now go unnoticed.

Diagnosis via algorithm

The doctors of the Research Network on Preventive Activities and Health Promotion (RedIAPP) have created a website which, through of an algorithmallows you to predict whether a person will suffer from an episode of anxiety, depression or risky alcohol consumption.

The free site allows you to choose whether to calculate one, two or all three parameters and the time needed to answer the questions, if you choose all three options, is approximately eight minutes.

This risk calculator allows you to predict the appearance of future episodes of depression, anxiety or alcohol problems.

It also offers the user information and resources to reduce the risk of any of these conditions, the three most common mental health conditions.