Article Text
Abstract
While substantial investment has been made in the early identification of mental and behavioural health disorders in service members, rates of depression, substance abuse and suicidality continue to climb. Objective and persistent measures are needed for early identification and treatment of these rising health issues. Considerable potential lies at the intersection of biology, wearables and artificial intelligence to provide high accuracy, objective monitoring of mental and behavioural health in training, operations and healthcare settings. While the current generation of wearable devices has predominantly targeted non-military use cases, military agencies have demonstrated successes in monitoring and diagnosis via off-label uses. Combined with context-aware and individualised algorithms, the integration of wearable data with artificial intelligence allows for a deeper understanding of individual-level and group-level mental and behavioural health at scale. Emerging digital phenotyping approaches which leverage ubiquitous sensing technology can provide monitoring at a greater scale, lower price point and lower individual burden by removing the need for additional body-worn technology. The intersection of this technology will enable individualised strategies to promote service member mental and physical health, reduce injury, and improve long-term well-being and deployability.
- physiology
- neurobiology
- information technology
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Footnotes
Contributors BW and EM wrote the article.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Disclaimer The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the authors and should not be construed as an official United States Department of Defense position, policy or decision.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.