Your smartphone can now monitor your mental health.
A new smartphone application developed by Israeli scientists can detect changes in behavioral patterns of a patient and send doctors data in real time. The new system has great potential to improve the efficacy of practicing clinical psychiatrists.
Mental illness accounts for 90 percent of reported suicides and thus places a large burden on social and economic infrastructures across the globe.
Research team leader Keren Sela of Dr. Uri Nevo and the scientists from the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Engineering and Sagol School of Neurosciences developed a new smartphone app based system which detects changes in the behavior of patients and then transmits that data to professionals who can in turn help them.
The observation of a patient through smartphones relives them of the constant burden of visiting hospitals. Nevo said, “The diagnosis of mental health disease is based only on behavioral patterns”.
In many cases, mentally unstable patients are “discharged from the hospital in to a vacuum and the patient does not have any idea on how to monitor their new state of mind,” added Nevo.
As smartphones have such a wide user base, researchers thought of making an application that could keep a tab on patients’ daily activities.
Photo Credits: Counsel heal
