Public Health Ministry to use AI for depression diagnosis
The Public Health Ministry announced plans to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into its online platform to aid in the diagnosis of depression. Revealed yesterday by the permanent secretary for public health, Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, this move is part of a broader effort to boost mental healthcare in the country.
The AI system, named the Detection and Monitoring Intelligence Network for Depression (DMIND), is the outcome of a joint venture between the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the Faculty of Engineering at Chulalongkorn University.
Dr Opas emphasised that the AI system was designed to assist psychiatrists and therapists in the initial screening process for depression. The system, which is linked to Mor Phrom’s Line Messenger account, is touted as being user-friendly yet effective. Users can communicate with a therapist through the chatbot function or pose personalised questions for depression screening using the Mental Health Checkup function, reported Bangkok Post.
Moreover, the system has voice and facial expression detection capabilities, which facilitate the classification of users into four distinct colour codes. Users assigned a yellow code can anticipate a callback from a therapist within seven days, while those categorised under the red code will be contacted within a day.
Pongkasem Kaimuk, director of DMH, explained that the application was developed in response to a growing demand for AI therapists to provide basic therapy. He also stated that additional features, such as user journey tracking and support for those exhibiting severe depression symptoms, are expected to be introduced in the future.
The DMH has reported a rise in patients seeking mental health therapy, with numbers growing from 1.3 million in 2015 to 2.4 million in 2022. The suicide rate has also increased, moving from 7.26 per 100,000 people to 7.94 per 100,000 people, with the majority of suicides occurring within the working-age population (20 to 59 years old).
This data aligns with information provided by the Centre of Excellence in Digital and AI for Mental Health (AIMET), which estimates that at least 2,200 teenagers aged over 15 years old per 100,000 suffer from depression.
