Clarigent Health Secures NIH Small Business Innovation Research Grant to Propel Advancements in Mental Health Technology
The grant will help to research new characteristics such as facial expressions and voice inflection that could positively affect the predictive value of the Clarigent technology.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mason, Ohio – October 1, 2023
Clarigent Health, a pioneering mental health technology company, proudly announces the successful acquisition of a competitive Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH). This funding marks a significant milestone in the company's commitment to advancing the development of their cutting-edge machine learning algorithms.
Dedicated to revolutionizing mental health care, Clarigent Health's proprietary algorithms harness the power of speech analysis to identify patients at risk of suicide and other mental health concerns. The Clarigent Health platform delivers an objective metric to mental health professionals, complementing patient-reported assessments and clinical impressions, thereby empowering informed clinical decisions.
Dr. Joshua Cohen, PhD, Chief Science Officer of Clarigent Health and Principal Investigator of the grant, emphasizes the project's mission to enhance prediction accuracy and explore the potential improvements that visual cues can bring to their models. "This project is critical to enhancing the technology with both visual cues as well as continuing to improve our automated virtual interviews," added Dr. Cohen.
In the United States, nearly 50,000 lives are lost to suicide annually, underscoring the urgent need for early identification and treatment. Clarigent Health aims to address this critical issue by providing scalable, real-time clinical decision support tools for risk screening. The platform not only facilitates improved treatment referral but also holds the potential to reduce suicides significantly.
Founder and CEO of Clarigent Health, Don Wright, expressed gratitude for the NIH's trust in the company's vital work. "This grant is the second time that NIH has trusted us to continue this critical work," remarked Mr. Wright. “The grant reinforces Clarigent Health's commitment to advancing technology and expanding its product offerings to make a lasting impact on mental health care.”
The research team, led by Dr. Joshua Cohen, includes collaborations with Dr. Jennifer Wright-Berryman, MSW, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati, and Dr. John Greden, MD, Executive Director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center. Together, they bring invaluable clinical perspective and interpretation to research findings, informing the seamless implementation of innovations into Clarigent Health's products.
For media inquiries, please contact:
PR@ClarigentHealth.com
National Institute of Mental Health:
Research discussed in this press release is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under award number R43MH131442 in the amount of $458,782. The content is solely the responsibility of Clarigent Health and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About Clarigent Health:
Clarigent Health was founded in 2018 and is backed by an experienced team of investors led by CincyTech. Clarigent Health is committed to improving mental health care and saving lives. Using patented AI algorithms to detect vocal biomarkers, Clarigent Health designs products that are both easy to understand and easy to use. Its HIPAA-compliant solutions are built to empower mental health professionals and to support better treatment for better outcomes. Clarigent Health is advancing scientific understanding and product capabilities through clinical trials and research, including an ongoing study open to the public. For information on this study please visit our website. We are grateful to our many partners, scientific advisors, and clinician-scientists working with us on these efforts.
Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these statements.