Blake Hall
The U.S. Navy is funding a new mobile app that can detect signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and autism by screening a user’s facial expressions.
PTSD is one of many ‘invisible wounds’ that plague military veterans long after they leave the battlefield. Unfortunately, many service members do not realize they are suffering from PTSD until their condition worsens. Others refuse to seek treatment for fear of getting discharged from their jobs or judged by their peers.
An app called Autism & Beyond will give veterans the power to detect symptoms of PTSD in the palms of their hands. The app was originally developed to detect signs of autism in children using a facial recognition algorithm. Using a smartphone’s camera, the app would ‘read’ a child’s facial expressions while watching a funny video. The child’s response is recorded and then analyzed to screen for autism.
The app’s potential doesn’t stop with autism. The Navy has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars behind the project to develop its ability to detect PTSD symptoms over time.
The app, which uses a general algorithm, could be expanded to PTSD to monitor people over time if speech and other signals are taken into account, according to Pedja Neskovic, who oversees the project in the Office of Naval Research.
“It can find patterns, not just in facial expressions but in different kinds of data sets, such as brain signals and speech, and it can be used on a continuous basis,” he said. “It’s a completely new world.”
The app is still in development, so it might be a few years before it hits the market. It’s also worth noting that Autism & Beyond is a pre-screening tool, not a substitute for a doctor’s diagnosis.