Warsaw-based Vivid Mind has produced a short voice test that leverages artificial intelligence (Ai) and leading-edge sound processing technology for early detection of dementia. Initial results have shown to have a high degree of accuracy with minimal false positives. The non-invasive Vivid Mind screening test has the potential to address one of major challenges of the dementia issue which is to significantly boost the percentage of senior adults who get tested from the current 20% level in the US to more than 50 percent. This one move could save millions of life years by enabling a proactive lifestyle approach involving among others, diet and other wellness changes in the US alone.
One of the earliest life changes observed in the initial stages of dementia involves voice. Dementia can affect the brain’s ability to process and produce speech. In dementia, the control over muscles involved in speech production can be impaired, affecting among other things how vowels are articulated. Vivid Mind’s unique, patented approach to audio decomposition, separation and analysis uses sound vectoring methods and algorithms called sound objects. It is based on a sinusoidal model that offers a radically new approach to computational analysis of the auditory scene thanks to advanced Ai’s ability to analyze voice data in real time.
The Vivid Mind screening method using voice as a biomarker allows one to first represent the sound spectrum in a more accurate way than that resulting from existing standard methods and then build interpretable features containing relevant information about a subject’s control over their voice. Significantly the approach focuses on a sustained utterance of a single vowel and is not language or culture dependent and thus has global utility The test itself can even be administered remotely with the help of only a mid-level clinician. Often the distinction between results of a heathy adult and one with early dementia are very subtle but the incorporation of advanced Ai algorithms into the process makes accurate classification possible
Vivid Mind’s CEO is native Pole, Dariusz Wiatr, who was educated at Wharton and spent over a decade working for global consulting groups in the US and Europe including Accenture and McKinsey and Co. He then returned to his homeland to take care of his elderly mom who was suffering from dementia. He notes: “We believe strongly in the efficacy of Vivid Mind and its potential impact on the global discussion on dementia. However, this significant leap forward could not have happened if we were not able to add advanced Ai classification algorithms into the process ”
Vivid Mind’s testing and patient experience suggests their platform can detect dementia as far as eight years ahead of its onset, a rough estimate that they admit needs more validation. It is critically important information, as a 2017 study by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention showed that up to half of all dementia cases can be delayed if addressed in a timely manner before someone has fully blown symptoms of the disease.
Vivid Mind plans an initial exploratory tour in the US soon to meet with potential partners, payors, investors and select press. The Company has also produced a short video that provides a brief overview and also was showcased on a leading Polish TV station (see below with subtitles)
By Tech.eu
Source: Tech.eu