Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago are exploring how smartphone apps and AI can personalize depression treatment, promising more tailored and effective care for patients.
In a pioneering leap for mental health care, researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) are harnessing the power of digital tools and artificial intelligence to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of depression. Supported by two significant grants totaling over $10 million, the initiative led by Jun Ma, the Beth Fowler Vitoux and George Vitoux Distinguished Professor at UIC, and her colleagues aims to make psychiatric care more accessible and personalized, embodying the principles of precision psychiatry.
“We want to use new digital assessment tools to better monitor and predict the disease trajectory and treatment response of people with depression,” Ma said in a news release. “Then we can provide patients with the kind of precision treatment that can work for them now, instead of waiting for weeks, months or even a year to see how they respond, and also use new digital tools to deliver proven therapies at scale.”
Tackling Depression’s Diversity
Depression is a multifaceted disorder, with evidence indicating it comprises various clinical subtypes. In collaboration with Stanford University, Ma’s team has already identified six distinct depression biotypes through brain scans and machine learning, as published in Nature Medicine. This groundbreaking study revealed that different subtypes respond better to specific treatments, underscoring the need for personalized care.
Leveraging a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health’s precision medicine in psychiatry initiative, Ma and her team at UIC will expand their research by incorporating innovative diagnostic tools and launching a clinical trial. Of the grant, $6.8 million is allocated to UIC researchers to further investigate these biotypes using BiAffect, a smartphone app developed by Alex Leow and Peter Nelson at UIC. BiAffect assesses cognitive health by analyzing changes in typing behavior during everyday activities.
“There’s an increasing understanding of the importance of how we think and how alterations in how we think play a role in mood disorders,” Olusola Ajilore, professor of psychiatry at the UI Center on Depression and Resilience, said in the news release. “For a long time, we’ve just focused on the emotional part of mood disorders — feeling depressed, feeling manic — but there’s a cognitive part that’s also really important.”
Based on the app’s insights, participants will be stratified into those with cognitive dysfunction and those without. They will receive either an antidepressant or a combination of an antidepressant and a blood-pressure drug used for ADHD and PTSD, aiming to tailor treatments more precisely.
“The grand goal of the study is to stratify patients so that we can better tailor treatments for them, rather than treating everybody with depression and putting them all in the same bucket,” added Ajilore.
A Digital Lifeline for Depression and Obesity
Among middle-aged and older adults, depression often overlaps with obesity, a trend particularly pronounced in Black and Latino communities. Ma’s previous research in the Vitoux Program on Aging and Prevention at UIC showed that addressing both conditions simultaneously can be more effective than treating them separately.
A second grant of $4 million from the National Institute on Aging will advance this project by utilizing an AI virtual coach to provide behavioral therapy for depression, paired with a video-based anti-obesity program, thus creating a comprehensive digital intervention.
Lumen, an app on the Amazon Alexa platform, will guide patients through problem-solving therapy. A pilot study linked the app intervention to reduced depression and anxiety, with promising results especially noted among women and non-white patients.
The new study will primarily focus on Black and Latino adults aged 50 to 74, demographics that typically face greater barriers to accessing psychiatric care. Researchers aim to determine the effectiveness of the combined interventions for different individuals and groups.
“By using these latest digital interventions to help deliver care at scale, with a particular emphasis on medically underserved populations, we can help address accessibility and also deliver the right treatment to the right patient at the right time,” Ma added. “And this aligns with the mission of the Vitoux Program.”
Through this blend of cutting-edge technology and compassionate care, UIC researchers are paving the way for a future where mental health treatment is more personalized, predictive and preventive, offering hope to countless individuals battling depression.