Artificial intelligence could help detect depression earlier in patients

Artificial intelligence could help detect depression earlier in patients. — Photography Danor_a/Getty Images/AFP Relaxnews

In China, researchers have developed an artificial intelligence system that can detect signs of depression from a person's voice. Faced with the prevalence of this condition, the discovery has the potential to become an effective tool in assessing patient mental health.

Researchers at the Jinhua Advanced Research Institute and Harbin University of Science and Technology in China have developed a deep learning algorithm that can detect depression from a person's voice. The tool was trained to recognize emotions in human speech by analyzing different vocal characteristics commonly found in the speech of patients diagnosed with depression.