AI-powered voice biomarkers for mental health

AI analyses background speech to spot early signs of invisible illnesses such as anxiety and depression

Spotted: According to the World Health Organisation, one in every eight people around the world live with a mental disorder. However, there is also a shortage of care options. For example, in the UK, the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ 2021 census revealed that at least 1.5 million people in England are waiting for treatment, but a tenth of consultant psychiatrist posts are not filled.

To help medical professionals better administer care, Canary Speech has developed vocal biomarker technology that uses AI to screen for mood, stress, and energy levels using a single 20-second audio clip. Canary’s technology analyses acoustic and linguistic elements in speech to model and screen for mental health and neurological disorders

The technology is language and device-agnostic and includes ambient listening tools. These are designed to unobtrusively capture and analyse conversations in real-time. This allows healthcare professionals to focus all of their attention on patient interactions while the system automatically documents clinical notes. 

Canary’s platform can analyse speech data within seconds to identify behavioral and cognitive changes earlier than current clinical screening methods, and before noticeable symptoms present themselves, for invisible illnesses like anxiety, depression, and dementia. There are a wide range of applications for this within the healthcare industry, including evaluating callers to helplines, conducting ambient clinical listening, remote patient monitoring, and annual wellness checks.

The company has recently secured a $13 million Series A funding round led by Cortes Capital, LLC, with participation from Sorenson Communications, LLC., SMK (Japan), and Hackensack Meridian Health. The financing will be used to grow Canary’s team and accelerate growth.

Written By: Lisa Magloff