PureTech Health starts companies in cutting-edge areas of biomedical science and often owns them outright. Its latest aims to create software that listens for warning signs of depression in people’s speech patterns.
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Researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL) are developing a computer algorithm to identify vocal biomarkers (e.g., indicators) that could help diagnose mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), or concussion.
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Picture this: At every step of a patient’s trip through the hospital, a virtual assistant awaits, ready to answer questions, pull up medical records — or snap photos during surgery. Hospital staff and patients walked through that futuristic hospital scenario one recent afternoon at a new simulation center at Boston Children’s Hospital.
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After hinting about it in a recent interview, Boston Children's Hospital has officially launched its partnership with Amazon Echo, which gives the voice-powered home appliance a new "skill" that will allow it to give simple health advice to parents about their children's' fever and medication dosing. Called KidsMD, the Alexa app is just the first step in a plan to bring Boston Children's medical knowledge to the consumer space, according to Chief Innovation Officer John Brownstein.
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Owners of Amazon’s voice-controlled, Internet-connected Echo speaker can ask it to play that catchy new song or find out whether they need to wear a rain coat today. And now, thanks to new software developed by Boston Children’s Hospital, users will be able to inquire if their child’s fever is serious enough that they should see a doctor.
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Apple's personal voice assistant Siri and Microsoft's equivalent Cortana may be able to direct users to the nearest pizza place or name a song that is playing, but they are less helpful when asked to provide health information related to mental health, violence and physical health.
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Amazon Echo, the company's Bluetooth speaker that doubles as a voice control hub for connected home devices and services, can now tell Fitbit users about their sleep, activity and weight, the companies announced today. Amazon Echo's personal assistant component goes by the name, Alexa.
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Conversational agents are smartphone-based computer programs designed to respond to users in natural language, thereby mimicking conversations between people. Many people use their smartphones to obtain health information.
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Rachel Moscicki is on the leading edge of a movement for nurses to use speech recognition and natural-language-processing technology to record their clinical documentation, saving time and optimizing use of scarce staff.
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