thymia

NHS Problem

In the UK, the challenge of diagnosing and treating depression within the NHS is daunting. Approximately 1 in 6 adults (16%) experience moderate to severe depressive symptoms, highlighting a widespread mental health crisis (Office of National Statistics). Despite the NHS allocating about 8% of its total budget to mental health services (British Medical Association), rates of untreated depression in the UK can reach as high as 77% (Strawbridge et al., 2022), with patients going undiagnosed or untreated. Typically they are seen only every 8 weeks and without any means to track treatment response at home. There is a need for 1) enhanced depression diagnosis and 2) continuity of care.

The Solution

Thymia apollo offers an AI solution for screening for depression symptoms in order to diagnose or monitor patients (also remotely). Patients can be assessed objectively and reliably using gamified activities on their smartphone. The AI analyses with their consent various characteristics of their voice, facial expression and game behaviour. The solution is meant to be a decision support tool and offer objective and reliable insights into depression symptoms and not to replace the clinicians.

Impact

IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) services face a critical challenge with patient dropout, leading to a significant waste of resources, estimated at £69 million annually due to missed appointments. Introducing apollo into IAPT could dramatically decrease these dropout rates by engaging patients with gamified activities in between sessions and offering prompts for discussion during the session, ensuring continuous care and enabling remote monitoring

In England, patients wait an average of 53 days between their initial IAPT consultation and their subsequent treatment session. Current depression screening relies heavily on self-reported questionnaires like the PHQ-8, which are susceptible to inaccuracies, whether intentional or not. Simulations indicate that even non-attentive, healthy individuals can score within the “moderate depressive symptoms” range on such tests. Thymia apollo, however, offers an objective assessment of depression symptoms through biomarkers. Once medically certified, it could improve the triage process and ultimately shorten wait times.

For GPs and psychiatrists, thymia apollo represents a tool for ongoing treatment evaluation, allowing for the remote observation of medication impacts and the timely adjustment of treatments or dosages. This capability could optimise appointment times but also enhance patient care.