Vocal biomarker monitoring technology shows promise in maintaining mental and cognitive fitness for military personnel

Today at the Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS) in Kissimmee, Florida, Sonde Health showcased the interim findings of a joint research study on the effectiveness of using vocal biomarkers to detect cognitive impairment in older adults.

The pilot study, conducted in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, validates the ability of Sonde Cognitive Fitness to accurately detect symptoms of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in older adults in a non-clinical setting. These findings join a growing body of research that demonstrates the efficacy of vocal biomarkers to identify meaningful changes in health. In addition, high rates of user engagement and satisfaction suggest strong potential for the widespread adoption of voice-based health monitoring technology.

"Understanding changes in cognitive and mental health is critical to facilitate timely interventions, give people time to take advantage of emerging treatments, and optimize performance. For the military, it is especially crucial to ensure the peak operational readiness and well-being of our warfighters," said Erik Larsen, Senior Vice President of Clinical Development & Customer Success at Sonde Health. "Our research shows that vocal biomarkers offer a reliable solution to monitor shifts in health, including those associated with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and cognitive impairment. Equally important, our vocal biomarker monitoring technology is unobtrusive and engaging, making it easy to integrate into daily routines and resilience programs.”

Over a four-week period, study participants ages 54-84, including both cognitively normal volunteers and those with cognitive impairments, used a smartphone app at home to complete voice tasks of varying cognitive difficulty. Sonde Cognitive Fitness then analyzed users’ vocal biomarkers and generated a simple score from 0 to 100. Users who scored in a lower score range were twice as likely to have a higher risk of being assessed with very mild or mild dementia compared to those in a higher score range.

Separate research published in March in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychiatry found that Sonde's technology can reliably distinguish individuals with elevated mental health symptoms. In the study, participants were twice as likely to report heightened mental health symptoms if their mental fitness vocal biomarkers scores remained in the “Pay Attention” range versus in the “Excellent” range over a period of two weeks.

Mental and cognitive fitness assessments are based on a similar set of vocal measurements, making their combined use particularly useful in military settings.

The results are propelling interest in Sonde Health’s voice-based health monitoring technology, especially for military personnel. The company was recently awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract through AFWERX to advance its Mental Fitness technology specifically for military use. Sonde will integrate and evaluate the tool within Air Force mental health and resilience programs to validate its effectiveness and scalability across the Department of Defense.

To learn more about how Sonde's vocal biomarker platform leverages voice-enabled apps and devices to assess and improve mental, cognitive, and respiratory health outcomes, visit https://www.sondehealth.com/.

About Sonde Health

Sonde Health is the global leader in voice-based health tracking and data insights. Sonde's vocal biomarker API/SDK serves enterprise apps and devices spanning consumer wellness to population health. Leveraging a best-in-class voice data set and clinical research with over 1.2 million samples from 85,000+ individuals on four continents, Sonde uses advanced audio signal processing, speech science, and AI/machine learning to sense and analyze subtle vocal changes due to changes in a person's physiology to provide key insights into health and well-being. www.sondehealth.com

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"Our research shows that vocal biomarkers offer a reliable solution to monitor shifts in health, including those associated with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and cognitive impairment."