Expansion and Evaluation of AI-generated Clinical Assessment (AI-COA®) of Depression and Anxiety Severity

Launched by DELIBERATE SOLUTIONS INC. · Apr 5, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The SEQUOIA-1 study is exploring how effective Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be in assessing the severity of depression and anxiety in adults. Instead of relying solely on human clinicians to evaluate symptoms—which can vary based on their individual experience—the study uses an AI tool called AI-COA®. This tool analyzes video interviews to provide a consistent and objective measure of mood and anxiety disorders. The goal is to improve the accuracy of mental health evaluations, which could help in the testing and approval of new treatments.

To participate in this study, individuals must be between 18 and 65 years old, fluent in English, and have recently started a new treatment for depression or anxiety. Participants will complete questionnaires about their symptoms and perform short tasks while interacting with an AI interviewer. Their experiences will be recorded and analyzed by the AI tool. It's important to note that certain conditions, cognitive impairments, or specific medications may disqualify individuals from participating. Overall, this study aims to establish a reliable way to assess mental health, potentially benefiting many people dealing with these conditions.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • English fluency
• • 18 to 65 years of age.
• • HAM-D 17 \> 10
• • Starting, or has started, a new treatment for depression or anxiety within 2-3 weeks of enrollment
• • Access to a laptop or other computer with a well functioning microphone and webcam, and a stable Internet connection
• • Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study
• • Resides in the United States at the time of consent and during completion of study
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Any cognitive impairment that limits ability to provide informed consent or authorization
• • Vulnerable or protected populations (e.g. prisoners)
• • Impairment that would prevent participants from completing an online survey and/or engaging in clinician assessment interviews (e.g., visual impairment, motor impairment, hearing impairment)
• • Acute intoxication at the time of the assessments
• * Concurrent medication/treatment:
• • Receiving any fast-acting treatment for depression or anxiety (e.g. ketamine, psychedelics, deep brain stimulation, etc.) in between initial baseline assessment (A1) and Restest (A2) , or in between Follow up assessment (B1) and Retest (B2)
• • Anxiolytics: Use of benzodiazepines or other anxiety-reducing medications that could affect speech or motor activity, within the past 4 weeks.
• • Antipsychotics and Mood Stabilizers: Medications that can alter cognitive and motor functions, within the past 6 weeks.
• • Stimulants: Use of medications like methylphenidate or amphetamines that affect energy levels and behavior, within the past 2 weeks
• • Epilepsy medication: seizure activity or medication side effects that may alter behavior, within the past 4 weeks.
• * Any history or evidence of any of the following conditions:
• * Neurodevelopmental, Neurocognitive, Neurodegenerative or movement disorders including, but not limited to:
• • Tourette's syndrome
• • Multiple Sclerosis
• • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
• • Parkinson's Disease
• • Stroke
• • Traumatic Brain Injury
• • Facial paralysis.
• * Conditions with vocal cord impact:
• • Vocal cord injury or cerebrovascular accident or head trauma with residual dysarthria in the past year
• • Disorders that may impact vocal cords such as acute or chronic laryngitis, vocal cord paresis or paralysis, or spasmodic dysphonia
• • Past or active heavy smokers (an average of \>20 cigarettes per day)
• * Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders:
• • Individuals with a current or past diagnosis of Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, or other psychotic disorders, including Delusional Disorder and Brief Psychotic Disorder.
• • Current hypomanic episode as defined by DSM-5 criteria. This includes those with Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, or Cyclothymic Disorder who are not in a stable mood state at the time of assessment.
• • Chronic Pain Conditions: Such as fibromyalgia, which may affect facial expressions and vocal tone.
• • Prosthetic Facial Devices: Could affect facial recognition algorithms. Cosmetic Procedures: Such as Botox injections or facelifts that can impact facial expressions.
• • Dental Work: Major procedures that might affect speech.
• • Participants who have previously participated in another research project by Deliberate.