Diagnosing Parkinson’s disease is challenging, as there’s no definitive test and it typically relies on evaluating physical symptoms. But researchers have now shown that artificial intelligence can detect vocal markers of the condition with over 90% accuracy, potentially even before motor symptoms appear.
In search of a non-invasive, affordable screening method, Aniruth Ananthanarayanan and colleagues at the University of North Texas gathered 195 voice recordings from 31 individuals, including 23 diagnosed with Parkinson’s. They used a portion of these recordings to train four AI models to recognize telltale vocal features, such as hoarseness and irregular pitch patterns.
Once the models were trained, researchers tested them using separate voice recordings from the same participants. The results showed that the models could identify individuals with Parkinson’s disease with over 90% accuracy.
This is just one example of how technology is transforming health care. As medicine enters a new era of innovation, staying ahead of emerging tools is essential for professionals and patients alike. So, how exactly is tech reshaping the field and what breakthroughs lie ahead?
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