With new software updates and applications coming in, smartphones can be your personal assistant, your travel guide, or even your doctor - at least for iPhones that reportedly can diagnose depression.
A recent study shows that smartphones such as the iPhone can diagnose depression among the users through an application called Purple Robot that uses data to detect depression symptoms, CNN reported.
Northwestern University researchers tested Purple Robot, an application which has sensors in the smartphone or iPhone that can diagnose depression by gathering date on phone usage, movement, location and other activities.
"The main reason for the development of the app is to see if we can objectively and passively identify if people are depressed," Purple Robot developer Sohrob Saeb said in the report.
The iPhone depression study published on JMIR Publications looked at phone usage data among 28 participants for a span of two weeks.
Purple Robot, the application responsible for detecting depression symptoms was reportedly able to identify 87 percent of the participants who were on the verge of having a depression based on a nine-question test called PHQ-9.
Furthermore, CNN said Purple Robot was able to detect 74 percent of those at-risk with iPhone depression by identifying who used their smartphones the most - from playing games to sending SMS.
"We created a software program that allows us to collect the information off of people's phones, look at their GPS location and how much they're using their phones, how much they're calling, and then use that information to predict levels of depression in people who have this [application]," said Stephen Schueller of the Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine, as reported by News Works.
Some limitations
The app that identifies iPhone depression may have worked but the researchers reportedly admitted that making it totally effective will involve more study.
Dr. Scott Monteith, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University told CNN that PHQ-9 "is only a screening tool that tells you if you have an above-average chance of having depression and is not enough to diagnose depression."
The report also cited some opinion that suggested the researches will have to do a study involving more participants over a longer time period to see if Purple Robot can detect behavioral changes over time and diagnose iPhone depression.
Dr. Monteith, however said in the report that he is "totally in favor of research," but pointing out that effectiveness and risks must be considered, as well as looking at FDA approval of medical treatment and devices.
Should your smartphone be called Dr. iPhone that diagnoses depression?
