Voice responsive software is already an amazing new technology that has stunned the nation in recent years. But now, Max Little, an applied mathematician and TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Fellow, has taken it one step further. Max is aiming to help anyone make a detection of Parkinson’s disease – simply by speaking. Little claims that there is software being developed that can ‘analyze vocal recordings for characteristic anomalies in an individual’s voice brought on by the disease’. This software can apparently detect Parkinson’s with a massive 86% accuracy. This rate increases to a whopping 99% when the said individual has mid to late stage Parkinson’s.
The software will be extremely easy to use, and patients will be able to do the tests by themselves in a matter of minutes and it will also be much cheaper compared to usual test practises. The software will hopefully be able to help with patient treatment – this means medicine dosage and timing would be optimised creating space for high-quality lean medical practises.
Further more this technology can be put to use for not just Parkinson’s, but a range of other neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, strokes, and a range of cancers that effect the throat – larynx, neck, and even lung cancer. Little’s goal is to make the technology accessible to doctors in the next two years. If it all goes well, this could be a massive help to the world, giving us the ability to nip certain diseases in the bud before it’s too late.