"Objective Evaluation Methods for Mental Disorders Can Be Obtained Through Digital Healthcare"

'Great Transition Mental Health R&D Forum' Professor Lee Heon-jeong, Korea University Anam Hospital

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] There is a claim that digital healthcare can provide objective evaluation methods to the field of psychiatry, which has traditionally relied on patients' subjective complaints.

On the 26th, Professor Lee Heon-jeong of the Department of Psychiatry at Korea University Anam Hospital stated at the 'Mental Health R&D Forum in the Era of Great Transformation,' hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, "We need to proactively predict, measure, and approach (mental illnesses), but there are almost no such tools available."

Professor Lee explained, "When a problem occurs, it should be measured and judged, but the problem is that such measures do not currently exist. Mental health is evaluated and diagnosed based on patients' subjective complaints, but many patients either hide their symptoms or sometimes exaggerate them."

He then quoted Peter Drucker's saying, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it," and argued for the need for objective evaluation methods using 'Digital Phenotypes.' Professor Lee introduced, "Digital phenotypes are technologies that transform the problems of psychiatry, which have so far been evaluated only through subjective reports, into objectively measurable means." He explained, "Smart devices that detect voice, movement, and biometric information can measure an individual's behavioral and psychological changes in real time, potentially sensing bodily changes before the person feels stress or depression."

The concept of 'digital biomarkers' was also introduced. Professor Lee said, "If the collected digital phenotypes can serve as indicators for drug treatment response or pathological vision, they can be called digital biomarkers."

As a digital biomarker company, Professor Lee introduced the U.S. company 'Mindstrong.' He explained, "Mindstrong claims to detect users' feelings of depression and anxiety through voice, interactions, and sensor information obtained via smartphones. Although the exact algorithm has not been disclosed, the program has already been released and is in use."

Professor Lee predicted, "When big data and biometric data are added to digital phenotypes, along with AI contributions, the current state of psychiatry will be completely transformed, ushering in a new paradigm era."