Can AI Help Doctors Treat Depression? These Startups Think So

While artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly powering a digital health boom, AI is still very much in its infancy when it comes to mental and behavioral well-being. This isn't really a surprise, as the ability to understanding human thoughts and feelings --not'merely' crunching blood test data or medical scans for signs of disease-- is much harder than telling if a person's kidney is about to fail. Boosting one's mood or providing personalized treatments for psychiatric disorders, and particularly depression, is harder still. Depression is the world's leading health burden according to the World Health Organization. Patients often face tedious trial and error processes to navigate the ocean of antidepressants.