Using Digital Technology for Personalized Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression

Posted on November 22, 2024
An Asian woman with shoulder length dark hair, wearing a white jacket and pink blouse, sitting at a desk with a laptop computer Dr. Jun Ma, Beth Fowler Vitoux and George Vitoux Distinguished Professor in Geriatrics at the College of Medicine.
Dr. Jun Ma, Beth Fowler Vitoux and George Vitoux Distinguished Professor in Geriatrics at the College of Medicine.

Dr. Jun Ma of the College of Medicine is leading an investigation into the use of smartphones and AI to expand access to psychiatric care and help realize the promise of precision psychiatry. The research is funded with over $14 million in grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging. Representing a collaboration among researchers at UIC and Stanford University, the study will use BiAffect, a smartphone app created by UIC researchers Dr. Alex Leow and Dr. Peter Nelson that measures cognitive health through changes in typing behavior.

With this data, researchers will be able to assess patients between clinic visits to generate new information that may help identify additional subtypes of depression. “We want to use new digital assessment tools to better monitor and predict the disease trajectory and treatment response of people with depression,” said Dr. Ma. “Then we can provide patients with the kind of precision treatment that can work for them now, instead of waiting for weeks, months or even a year to see how they respond, and also use new digital tools to deliver proven therapies at scale.”