Boston, Massachusetts-based Cogito was founded on “the idea of being able to automatically detect distress and depression based on how people are speaking,” Dr. Skyler Place, the company’s chief behavioral scientist, said in a phone interview.
The organization, which has been around for about a decade, is leveraging its technology to help a variety of parties.
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In February 2016, Cogito teamed up with Massachusetts General Hospital. The effort is open to members of MGH’s MoodNetwork, a patient-powered research network for individuals with bipolar disorder and depression.
Through the collaboration, the company provides patients with a mobile app called Cogito Companion. The tool allows patients to record 30-second “audio diary” entries. The company’s voice analysis capability is able to narrow in on patients’ well-being based on how they say sentences and phrases. Through the app, Cogito also tracks behavioral indicators like isolation based on how many calls and texts the individual makes and receives.
Combined, these functions create a data set that MGH and Cogito can use to give patients feedback.
The Boston company is also delivering this same approach to aid veterans in Colorado. Through an ongoing collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Cogito has been able to use its app to track vets’ mental health. It has also enabled clinicians to pinpoint events like homelessness that could be warning signs for veterans.
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Going forward, Place said his organization hopes to move from helping veterans in Colorado to supporting vets nationally.
Cogito strives to help a third player in the healthcare space as well: payers. More specifically, it’s helping health insurers’ call center employees as they interact with patients.
Like the Companion app, the platform geared toward call centers is able to analyze how people speak, from their intonation and energy to the back and forth in a conversation.
Through the technology, Cogito supplies insurer call center employees with information on how they’re speaking to and connecting with a customer. For instance, if the employee is reading a lengthy script, a notification will say remind him or her to wrap up their sentence and engage the customer with a question. Or if the agent’s voice is starting to sound dull and flat, a notification will prompt him or her to speak with a bit more enthusiasm.
“We nudge behavior based on how the agent him or herself is speaking, as well as the overall dynamics of the conversation,” Place said.
The company has been using this technique for quite some time and has worked with payers like Humana and Aetna. Looking ahead, Place noted Cogito hopes to use its call center approach in other industries, such as other types of insurance and financial services.
Cogito isn’t the only entity deploying voice analysis tools. Sonde Health licensed a voice-based tech platform for monitoring and diagnosing mental and physical conditions from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory.
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