SBIR Phase I: A mental health screening tool for youth using AI and game-based technology

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是改善儿童心理健康结果。据估计，20%的儿童患有可诊断的精神健康状况，其中一半在14岁之前就会出现症状和体征。自杀是10岁以上儿童死亡的第二大原因；未接受干预或适当服务的受影响儿童成长为具有不良后果的成年人。拟议的项目开发了一种现代心理健康筛检器，通过跟踪类似于身高、体重、听力、视力和其他健康迹象的心理健康生命体征，为临床医生和家庭提供装备。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将推进一种新的心理健康筛查工具。在一个游戏化的基于网络的平台上，4-18岁的儿童将参与一个动态的问题集，旨在识别被称为心理健康问题指标的风险因素。使用人工智能语音和面部生物标志物，情感分析和机器学习的新颖组合，筛选器将提供医生和家庭使用的首个心理健康基线，以更好地了解孩子独特的心理健康状况。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is improve pediatric mental health outcomes. An estimated twenty percent of children suffer with a diagnosable mental health condition and half of those will show signs and symptoms before the age of 14. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among children aged 10+; affected children that do not receive intervention or appropriate services grow into adults with adverse outcomes. The proposed project develops a modern mental health screener to equip clinicians and educate families by tracking mental health vital signs similar to height, weight, hearing, vision and other signs of health. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance a new mental health screening tool. In a gamified, web-based platform, children aged 4-18 will engage in a dynamic question set designed to identify risk factors known as indicators of mental health concerns. Using a novel combination of artificial intelligence for voice and facial biomarkers, sentiment analysis and machine learning, the screener will provide a first-of-its-kind mental health baseline used by doctors and families to better understand the child’s unique mental health.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.