AI tool analyses voice biomarkers to catch early signs of elderly depression

Image: (L-R) Lee Poh Wah, CEO, Lien Foundation; Asst Prof (Clinical Practice) Dr Lee Eng Sing, Clinical Director of Primary Care and Family Medicine Research Programme, LKCMedicine, and Co-Principal Investigator of SoundKeeper 3; Dr Eugene Chua, Family Physician, Associate Consultant, and NHGP Site Investigator of the SoundKeepers programme; Dr Mythily Subramaniam, Assistant Chairman, Medical Board (Research), IMH, and Co-Principal Investigator of SoundKeepers; Prof Guan Cuntai, President’s Chair Professor in Computer Science and Engineering, Deputy Dean, CCDS, and Co-Principal Investigator of SoundKeepers; Danny Loke, Head of Community Mental Health Department, Fei Yue Community Service; Rabi’atull Syerida Juma’at, Manager of the Recovery Wellness Programme (RWP) of Club HEAL.


Researchers from NTU Singapore have partnered with the healthcare and social sectors to create an AI tool that detects early signs of depression in seniors – by analysing subtle signs in voice samples.

Under the three-year SoundKeepers research study, the researchers from NTU’s LKCMedicine and CCDS will analyse voice samples from seniors who signed up for the programme. Their voice biomarkers provide an indication of the state of their mental health and indication of subsyndromal depression, similar to how doctors can determine a patient’s physical health by taking readings of a patient's temperature or blood pressure.

Deterioration in mental health often leads to physiological changes in muscles used in voice production. For example, stress can cause muscle tension in the throat, neck, and jaw, affecting the vocal cords and therefore, the pitch and tone of the voice generated.

Seniors who are identified to be at risk will then be referred to a pilot community-based early intervention programme, which equips them with range of strategies and techniques to combat subsyndromal depression.

Partners in the SoundKeepers project include two healthcare institutions of the National Healthcare Group, National Healthcare Group Polyclinics and Institute of Mental Health; two Social Service Agencies, Fei Yue Community Services and Club HEAL; and philanthropic house Lien Foundation