PRIORI is an android app that monitors subtle voice changes to detect bipolar mood swings. It was developed by Zahi Karam, Emily Mower Provost and Melvin McInnis at the University of Michigan. The hope is to anticipate swings before they happen, and intervene. PRIORI was inspired by the families of bipolar patients, who often were first to detect an imminent mood swing during conversations.

Doctors routinely look for speech characteristics to assess mood in bipolar patients. Those heading toward a manic episode may speak louder or faster than usual, and may jump from topic to topic. A recent study showed depressed patients having longer speech pause times. The pauses often shorten as patients are treated with antidepressants. Another study showed differences in pitch and jitter in different mood states among bipolar patients. PRIORI identifies these signals and notifies the patient or doctor.

The app monitors voice patterns during calls made, and during weekly conversations with a member of the care team. Characteristics of the sounds and silences of each conversation are analyzed. Only the patient’s side of calls is recorded. The recordings are encrypted and not available to the research team. They see the results of the analysis, which are stored in secure servers to ensure privacy. Standardized weekly mood assessments with a clinician provide a mood benchmark, and are used to correlate the acoustic features of speech with a patient’s mood state.

As other conditions also cause voice changes, the same technology is being tested for schizophrenia, PTSD and Parkinson’s patients.