The Future of Voice Biomarkers in the Neurology
Advances in medical field has led to development of innovative technique of voice analysis which has potential and can be used as a biomarker for screening medical conditions like psychiatric disorders, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disorders and others. Recently, there has been an inclination towards voice analysis to understand neuropsychiatric diseases and others. Thus, vocal biomarkers serve as a tool for medical practitioners to under the symptoms of illnesses from stress, depression to cardiovascular diseases.
Sound vibrations are used in therapeutic healing for mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Recent research has broadened its application for diagnosis of cardiovascular and other diseases. Biomarkers in the voice of a person have been linked to disorders such as depression, coronary artery disease, and anxiety. Moreover, HIPAA compliant vocal biomarker systems are expected to serve as an effective alternative to current diagnostic techniques such as MRI, X-Ray, and CT scan, owing to successful completion of clinical trials. Research is also underway for identifying vocal biomarkers in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, cognitive impairment, and respiratory disorders, which is expected to offer growth opportunities for market players. Companies operating in the field of voice technology are sampling voice data to provide accurate results. For instance, Beyond Verbal, Inc. has been researching on vocal biomarkers since 1996, and has collected over 2.5 million voice samples in over 40 different languages.
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Increasing prevalence of psychological and cardiovascular diseases is expected to drive growth of the vocal biomarkers market over the forecast period. For instance, according to the American Stroke Association 2015, cardiovascular disorders was the main cause of death worldwide, accounting for 17.3 Mn deaths per year, which is expected to reach 23.6 Mn by 2030. Moreover, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, in 2017, about 5.5 million people in the U.S suffered from Alzheimer's and dementia, which demands rapid research on biomarkers for early detection of Alzheimer Disease.
Furthermore, vocal biomarker technology systems would act as an ideal cost-effective primary diagnostic tools that could help discern if the patient needs to further opt for expensive X-Ray/MRI/CT/EEG/ECG scans. Thus, many people suffering from these chronic ailments explicates large potential for vocal biomarkers technology in the commercial space in the long run.
MRI, CT, X-ray, and ECG, are minimally invasive technologies and are out of reach in the emerging economies. Moreover, minimally invasive procedures are preferred by patients due to advantages such as speedy recovery. However, high costs of these techniques results in substantial healthcare burden on the economy.
Major players operating in the vocal biomarkers industry include Beyond Verbal, Inc., Sonde Health Inc., Sharecare, Inc., IBM Coporation, and Cogito Corporation, Microtest Health, Boston Technology, Audio Profiling.
Source: The Insight partners