The foray of Google Life Sciences (GLS) into mental health research has gone all out as the company hires a top neuroscientist in the person of Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Insel announced his plans on stepping down from his current position. He cleared out that retirement is not what he's in to but to join the life sciences division of Google, which aims to devise technologies that can boost prompt diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of health problems.
Google, which is slowly restructuring to become a brand new company called "Alphabet," was able to score a top notch research expert and leader equipped with impeccable understanding of the human brain and the sciences of behavior.
Insel will mandate issues with psychosocial health using greater advancements. An example of a possible project is the early diagnosis of psychosis through the use of language analytics, which are composed of different algorithms that may help detect the linguistic features present in a disorganized nervous system.
Insel states that precise monitoring of mental health has also become a possibility now. This development could aid in the detection and alleviation of the origins of depression and anxiety, such as sleep disturbance and social relationships. Overall, the concept is to utilize the wonders of data analytics to put behavioral sciences in a platform that can make it highly objective compared to how it had been viewed in the past.
According to Insel, it has been an encouraging feat to see technological companies invest in mental health research also. He adds that GLS' move to establish a massive research effort about mental health is a fruitful statement as it recognizes disorders such as autism, depression and anxiety, and the chance for technology to create major influences for millions of affected patients.
Insel worked as a director at the NIMH since 2002, a total of 13 years of service. A replacement has not been announced but for the meantime, Dr. Francis Collins, the director of NIMH, has assigned Dr. Bruce Cuthbert for his temporary service.
GLS has already developed technologies that address different health problems. One product that the team has already created is the smart contact lenses that have the capability to detect blood sugar levels for the management of diabetic patients.
