You know mental health issues such as anxiety and depression are firmly on the public agenda when there’s talk Apple are looking into ways to diagnose such conditions via iPhone features.
The Wall Street Journal reports Apple are teamed with medical experts at UCLA and a pharmaceutical company called Bioglen in the hope of developing features for their do-everything flagship phone.
Also looking into cognitive ability, it’s believed the aim is to develop algorithms based on a user’s biometric data surrounding such indicators as sleep, movement and facial expressions.
If teamed with an Apple Watch, indicators such as heart rate, sleep patterns, rate of breath and even typing speed and amount of errors could help bring mental health problems to light.
According to the report, “Researchers hope they can tease out digital signals associated with the target conditions so that algorithms can be created to detect them reliably.”
It adds that, “Apple hopes that would become the basis for unique features for its devices.”
Of course, if you are feeling the symptoms of depression or anxiety, don’t wait for Apple because this is all still in the very early research phase. Consult your GP or visit a reputable site such as Beyondblue.org.au.
