ASIAArtificial IntelligenceSingapore project to build voice AI for detecting early elderly depressionSubsyndromal depression is said to be five times more common than clinical depression among Singaporean seniors.By Adam AngOctober 28, 202412:01 AMPhoto: shapecharge/Getty Images

亚洲人工智能协会（AsiaArtificialIntelligencesingapore）项目旨在建立语音AI来检测早期老年抑郁症。据说，在新加坡老年人中，亚综合征抑郁症的发病率是临床抑郁症的五倍。作者：Adam AngOctober 28202412:01 AMPhoto:shapecharge/Getty Images

A multi-sector partnership involving the National Healthcare Group and Nanyang Technological University is building voice AI and a community intervention programme to detect an early form of depression among the elderly.

由国家医疗保健集团和南洋理工大学组成的多部门合作伙伴关系正在建立语音AI和社区干预计划，以检测老年人中的早期抑郁症。

The three-year project also engages the NHG Polyclinics and Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and two NTU Singapore schools – Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) and College of Computing and Data Science (CCDS).

该为期三年的项目还涉及NHG综合诊所和心理健康研究所（IMH）以及两所新加坡南洋理工大学医学院（LKCMedicine）和计算与数据科学学院（CCDS）。

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

是关于什么的

The project – dubbed SoundKeepers – will involve more than 600 senior individuals aged 55 and above who are connected to Hougang and Woodlands polyclinics.

该项目被称为SoundKeepers，将涉及600多名55岁及以上的老年人，他们与厚岗和伍德兰综合诊所有联系。

Voice records of the participants from casual conversation or passage reading will be collected with consent and identified as a representative sample for the AI model. The voice samples will be anonymised and stored in a central storage terminal.

在获得同意的情况下，将收集来自随意对话或阅读文章的参与者的语音记录，并将其确定为AI模型的代表性样本。语音样本将匿名并存储在中央存储终端中。

The AI, to be jointly developed by NTU Singapore's LKCMedicine and CCDS, will then analyse these sample recordings for their acoustic properties, including pitch, volume, timbre, rhythm, shimmer, jitter, and harmonics-to-noise ratio.

人工智能将由新加坡南洋理工大学的LKCMedicine和CCDS联合开发，然后将分析这些样本记录的声学特性，包括音调、音量、音色、节奏、微光、抖动以及谐波噪声比。

'When we use our voice, we are activating and coordinating more than a hundred different muscles and neurobiological processes. A change in speech acoustic features can reveal abnormalities in these neurobiological processes,' explained Dr Lee Eng Sing, co-principal project investigator. He is also an assistant professor and the clinical director of NTU LKCMedicine's Primary Care and Family Medicine research programme. .

“当我们使用声音时，我们正在激活和协调一百多种不同的肌肉和神经生物学过程。项目共同负责人LeeEng Sing博士解释说：“语音声学特征的变化可以揭示这些神经生物学过程的异常。”。他还是NTU LKCMedicine初级保健和家庭医学研究计划的助理教授和临床主任。。

Meanwhile, a second component of the project is a 24-week community intervention programme led by the IMH. It will comprise module-based psychoeducation, community activities (such as exercise and recreational activities), and befriending. The programme will be delivered with assistance from social service agencies, Fei Yue Community Services and Club HEAL. .

同时，该项目的第二个组成部分是由IMH领导的为期24周的社区干预计划。。该计划将在社会服务机构、翡翠社区服务和Club HEAL的协助下实施。。

Moreover, a randomised controlled trial – to be led by the NHG Polyclinics – will recruit 300 participants with those observed having early depression to compare their levels of loneliness, anxiety, well-being, and depression literacy before and after the intervention programme. These will also be compared to a control group. .

此外，由NHG综合诊所领导的一项随机对照试验将招募300名参与者，与观察到的早期抑郁症患者进行比较，以比较干预计划前后他们的孤独感、焦虑感、幸福感和抑郁素养水平。这些也将与对照组进行比较。。

This cluster-wide project has received S$5.6 million ($4.2 million) in funding from the Lien Foundation.

这个集群范围内的项目已获得Lien基金会560万新元（420万美元）的资助。

WHY IT MATTERS

为什么它很重要

The NHG-based project targets the condition called subsyndromal depression (SSD), an emergent form of depression observed among seniors. The project partners consider the condition as a 'largely unaddressed health risk.'

基于NHG的项目针对的是一种称为亚综合征抑郁症（SSD）的疾病，这是一种在老年人中观察到的抑郁症的新兴形式。项目合作伙伴认为这种情况是“基本上未解决的健康风险”

In a statement, they claim that SSD is five times more likely to become depression within a year; individuals with this condition are reportedly 12 times at higher risk of dementia.

在一份声明中，他们声称SSD在一年内患抑郁症的可能性是前者的五倍；据报道，患有这种疾病的人患痴呆症的风险高出12倍。

There are five times more people with SSD than those diagnosed with depression over a year, they noted.

他们指出，一年内，SSD患者的数量是抑郁症患者的五倍。

The condition is also said to affect around 13% of seniors living in community homes, based on self-reported assessments – which may be an underestimation.

根据自我报告的评估，据说这种情况也影响了大约13%住在社区居所的老年人，这可能是低估了。

Additionally, it was observed that seniors with early depression incur more healthcare costs as well as have a higher uptake of outpatient services than those without it.

此外，据观察，患有早期抑郁症的老年人比没有抑郁症的老年人承担更多的医疗保健费用，并且门诊服务的使用率更高。

'Currently, SSD is not actively diagnosed or treated,' admitted Dr Mythily Subramaniamad, also a co-principal investigator of the SoundKeepers project. She is also the assistant chair of the Research Medical Board at IMH.

“目前，SSD尚未得到积极诊断或治疗，”Mythily Subramaniamad博士承认，他也是SoundKeepers项目的联合首席研究员。她还是IMH研究医学委员会的助理主席。

Their project, Dr Subramaniamad added, will 'facilitate the early detection and diagnosis of SSD with a tool that can be easily used in the community setting.'

Subramaniamad博士补充说，他们的项目将“通过一种可以在社区环境中轻松使用的工具，促进SSD的早期检测和诊断。”

'[A]s while previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of detecting depression through vocal analysis, little work has been done on the more subtle SSD,' claimed NTU CDDS professor Guan Cuntai, another co-principal investigator of the project.

“虽然之前的研究已经证明了通过声音分析检测抑郁症的可行性，但对更微妙的SSD的研究却很少，”该项目的另一位联合首席研究员关存泰教授声称。

Once proven effective, SoundKeepers is hoped to be expanded to cover more polyclinics, GP clinics, and participant cohorts. Project partners also see the voice AI-driven project as potentially becoming part of Singapore's national mental health ecosystem through such existing government-funded community programmes as CREST and COMIT. .

一旦证明有效，SoundKeepers有望扩展到更多的综合诊所，全科医生诊所和参与者队列。项目合作伙伴还认为，通过现有的政府资助的社区项目，如CREST和COMIT，语音人工智能驱动的项目有可能成为新加坡国家心理健康生态系统的一部分。。

THE LARGER TREND

更大的趋势

Another social service agency in Singapore, Lion Befrienders, is also leveraging AI and mobile technologies to monitor and improve the mental conditions of community-dwelling seniors.

新加坡另一家社会服务机构Lion Befriends也在利用人工智能和移动技术来监测和改善社区老年人的心理状况。

In 2021, it started a two-year pilot with software company Opsis to check the mental state of over 4,000 seniors by capturing and analysing their facial expressions.

2021年，它开始与软件公司Opsis进行为期两年的试点，通过捕捉和分析4000多名老年人的面部表情来检查他们的心理状态。

Last year, the Singapore University of Technology and Design worked with Lion Befrienders to launch a mobile application to prevent dementia among seniors through multilingual instructions. The app, called Ami, has been installed in over a thousand digital tablets used in one of the service's active ageing centres. .

去年，新加坡技术与设计大学（Singapore University of Technology and Design）与Lion Befriends合作推出了一款移动应用程序，通过多语言指令预防老年痴呆症。该应用程序名为Ami，已安装在该服务的一个活跃老龄中心使用的1000多个数字平板电脑中。。

ON THE RECORD

记录在案

'We need new ways to listen to our seniors. While they may not express their worries through words, we can now try to hear it through their voices,' Lien Foundation CEO Lee Poh Wah underscored in a statement.

“我们需要新的方式来倾听老年人的意见。。

Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Mobile, Population Health

主题：人工智能、移动、人口健康

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A multi-sector partnership involving the National Healthcare Group and Nanyang Technological University is building voice AI and a community intervention programme to detect an early form of depression among the elderly.

由国家医疗保健集团和南洋理工大学组成的多部门合作伙伴关系正在建立语音AI和社区干预计划，以检测老年人中的早期抑郁症。

The three-year project also engages the NHG Polyclinics and Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and two NTU Singapore schools – Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) and College of Computing and Data Science (CCDS).

该为期三年的项目还涉及NHG综合诊所和心理健康研究所（IMH）以及两所新加坡南洋理工大学医学院（LKCMedicine）和计算与数据科学学院（CCDS）。

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

是关于什么的

The project – dubbed SoundKeepers – will involve more than 600 senior individuals aged 55 and above who are connected to Hougang and Woodlands polyclinics.

该项目被称为SoundKeepers，将涉及600多名55岁及以上的老年人，他们与厚岗和伍德兰综合诊所有联系。

Voice records of the participants from casual conversation or passage reading will be collected with consent and identified as a representative sample for the AI model. The voice samples will be anonymised and stored in a central storage terminal.

在获得同意的情况下，将收集来自随意对话或阅读文章的参与者的语音记录，并将其确定为AI模型的代表性样本。语音样本将匿名并存储在中央存储终端中。

The AI, to be jointly developed by NTU Singapore's LKCMedicine and CCDS, will then analyse these sample recordings for their acoustic properties, including pitch, volume, timbre, rhythm, shimmer, jitter, and harmonics-to-noise ratio.

人工智能将由新加坡南洋理工大学的LKCMedicine和CCDS联合开发，然后将分析这些样本记录的声学特性，包括音调、音量、音色、节奏、微光、抖动以及谐波噪声比。

'When we use our voice, we are activating and coordinating more than a hundred different muscles and neurobiological processes. A change in speech acoustic features can reveal abnormalities in these neurobiological processes,' explained Dr Lee Eng Sing, co-principal project investigator. He is also an assistant professor and the clinical director of NTU LKCMedicine's Primary Care and Family Medicine research programme. .

“当我们使用声音时，我们正在激活和协调一百多种不同的肌肉和神经生物学过程。项目共同负责人LeeEng Sing博士解释说：“语音声学特征的变化可以揭示这些神经生物学过程的异常。”。他还是NTU LKCMedicine初级保健和家庭医学研究计划的助理教授和临床主任。。

Meanwhile, a second component of the project is a 24-week community intervention programme led by the IMH. It will comprise module-based psychoeducation, community activities (such as exercise and recreational activities), and befriending. The programme will be delivered with assistance from social service agencies, Fei Yue Community Services and Club HEAL. .

同时，该项目的第二个组成部分是由IMH领导的为期24周的社区干预计划。。该计划将在社会服务机构、翡翠社区服务和Club HEAL的协助下实施。。

Moreover, a randomised controlled trial – to be led by the NHG Polyclinics – will recruit 300 participants with those observed having early depression to compare their levels of loneliness, anxiety, well-being, and depression literacy before and after the intervention programme. These will also be compared to a control group. .

此外，由NHG综合诊所领导的一项随机对照试验将招募300名参与者，与观察到的早期抑郁症患者进行比较，以比较干预计划前后他们的孤独感、焦虑感、幸福感和抑郁素养水平。这些也将与对照组进行比较。。

This cluster-wide project has received S$5.6 million ($4.2 million) in funding from the Lien Foundation.

这个集群范围内的项目已获得Lien基金会560万新元（420万美元）的资助。

WHY IT MATTERS

为什么它很重要

The NHG-based project targets the condition called subsyndromal depression (SSD), an emergent form of depression observed among seniors. The project partners consider the condition as a 'largely unaddressed health risk.'

基于NHG的项目针对的是一种称为亚综合征抑郁症（SSD）的疾病，这是一种在老年人中观察到的抑郁症的新兴形式。项目合作伙伴认为这种情况是“基本上未解决的健康风险”

In a statement, they claim that SSD is five times more likely to become depression within a year; individuals with this condition are reportedly 12 times at higher risk of dementia.

在一份声明中，他们声称SSD在一年内患抑郁症的可能性是前者的五倍；据报道，患有这种疾病的人患痴呆症的风险高出12倍。

There are five times more people with SSD than those diagnosed with depression over a year, they noted.

他们指出，一年内，SSD患者的数量是抑郁症患者的五倍。

The condition is also said to affect around 13% of seniors living in community homes, based on self-reported assessments – which may be an underestimation.

根据自我报告的评估，据说这种情况也影响了大约13%住在社区居所的老年人，这可能是低估了。

Additionally, it was observed that seniors with early depression incur more healthcare costs as well as have a higher uptake of outpatient services than those without it.

此外，据观察，患有早期抑郁症的老年人比没有抑郁症的老年人承担更多的医疗保健费用，并且门诊服务的使用率更高。

'Currently, SSD is not actively diagnosed or treated,' admitted Dr Mythily Subramaniamad, also a co-principal investigator of the SoundKeepers project. She is also the assistant chair of the Research Medical Board at IMH.

“目前，SSD尚未得到积极诊断或治疗，”Mythily Subramaniamad博士承认，他也是SoundKeepers项目的联合首席研究员。她还是IMH研究医学委员会的助理主席。

Their project, Dr Subramaniamad added, will 'facilitate the early detection and diagnosis of SSD with a tool that can be easily used in the community setting.'

Subramaniamad博士补充说，他们的项目将“通过一种可以在社区环境中轻松使用的工具，促进SSD的早期检测和诊断。”

'[A]s while previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of detecting depression through vocal analysis, little work has been done on the more subtle SSD,' claimed NTU CDDS professor Guan Cuntai, another co-principal investigator of the project.

“虽然之前的研究已经证明了通过声音分析检测抑郁症的可行性，但对更微妙的SSD的研究却很少，”该项目的另一位联合首席研究员关存泰教授声称。

Once proven effective, SoundKeepers is hoped to be expanded to cover more polyclinics, GP clinics, and participant cohorts. Project partners also see the voice AI-driven project as potentially becoming part of Singapore's national mental health ecosystem through such existing government-funded community programmes as CREST and COMIT. .

一旦证明有效，SoundKeepers有望扩展到更多的综合诊所，全科医生诊所和参与者队列。项目合作伙伴还认为，通过现有的政府资助的社区项目，如CREST和COMIT，语音人工智能驱动的项目有可能成为新加坡国家心理健康生态系统的一部分。。

THE LARGER TREND

更大的趋势

Another social service agency in Singapore, Lion Befrienders, is also leveraging AI and mobile technologies to monitor and improve the mental conditions of community-dwelling seniors.

新加坡另一家社会服务机构Lion Befriends也在利用人工智能和移动技术来监测和改善社区老年人的心理状况。

In 2021, it started a two-year pilot with software company Opsis to check the mental state of over 4,000 seniors by capturing and analysing their facial expressions.

2021年，它开始与软件公司Opsis进行为期两年的试点，通过捕捉和分析4000多名老年人的面部表情来检查他们的心理状态。

Last year, the Singapore University of Technology and Design worked with Lion Befrienders to launch a mobile application to prevent dementia among seniors through multilingual instructions. The app, called Ami, has been installed in over a thousand digital tablets used in one of the service's active ageing centres. .

去年，新加坡技术与设计大学（Singapore University of Technology and Design）与Lion Befriends合作推出了一款移动应用程序，通过多语言指令预防老年痴呆症。该应用程序名为Ami，已安装在该服务的一个活跃老龄中心使用的1000多个数字平板电脑中。。

ON THE RECORD

记录在案

'We need new ways to listen to our seniors. While they may not express their worries through words, we can now try to hear it through their voices,' Lien Foundation CEO Lee Poh Wah underscored in a statement.

“我们需要新的方式来倾听老年人的意见。。