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Background
REST (Relapse Evaluation using Smartphone Technology) is a new research study looking at whether or not it is possible for smartphone technology to detect and predict relapse in people suffering from a serious mental illness (SMI).
We are trialling a new smartphone app that could potentially help people with SMI get better help and timely support before they reach a crisis point, while also helping clinicians to provide better care.
Participants are recruited from several NHS sites in England, in a collaboration that includes University College London and Mindstrong Health. This study was reviewed and approved by the London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee (IRAS study ID: 245218)
The smartphone app being tested is called Discovery and it was developed by Mindstrong Health, an American healthcare innovation company. The app uses digital phenotyping to better understand how human-computer interactions patterns can function as a continuous measure of brain function.
The app will passively collect metadata (e.g., swipes, taps, relative location, and timestamps of ingoing/outgoing calls or text messages) for a year. Participants will complete short monthly assessments of memory and cognition via the app, plus a telephone assessment of relapse indicators (e.g., hospitalisation, medication non-compliance).
Relapse events are also assessed from objective clinical data collected from different NHS sites over the follow-up period. Smartphone metadata will be used to construct digital phenotypes (biomarker patterns) to predict relapse events.
This study has been temporarily suspended since the start of lockdown in March 2020. If you would like more information, please email Thomas.booker@ucl.ac.uk