Scientists have come up with a quick way to diagnose and treat depression using video games and AI technology.
The platform Thymia has developed a programme whereby patients play a game and the AI (Artificial Intelligence) is able to detect and analyse certain behaviours, the tone of their voice, and expressions.
They would need to be monitored over a period of time but would be able to play the video games in between appointments.
Dr Emilia Molimpakis, CEO and co-founder of Thymia, told Sky News: "Right now the existing system is flawed in many ways, GPs don't have time, the existing systems they have are subjective questionnaires that are incredibly biased and there's no follow-up between appointments.
"Thymia is the first system that offers objectivity and uses several types of data in order to create a really accurate and robust model of depression."
The aim is to get a diagnosis much sooner and ensure patients are receiving the correct treatment.
Molimpakis added to the news outlet: "What we hope to achieve is to help clinicians achieve the right diagnosis much faster - currently it takes years, we want to reduce that to weeks - and also help them find the right treatment for each individual patient."
Clinical trials are due to start at the University College London and King's College London later this year.
