Digital phenotyping is an emerging area of research that aims to improve mental healthcare by enabling ongoing passive monitoring of patients using digital devices. This method allows for behaviour to be conveniently and consistently measured. This research focused on addressing practical challenges the field is currently facing, such as how to handle gaps of missing data, how to address the wide range of factors that can influence a person’s behaviour, and how to move towards making timely predictions of important clinical changes. By measuring behaviour using smartphones, it was seen that participants with Alzheimer’s disease and memory complaints spent significantly less time socially active than healthy people. The research also showed how people’s behaviour varied around events such as holidays and physical illness. A case study for predicting depression relapse from smartphone data showcased a key clinical application for digital phenotyping.
Imogen Leaning (1996) obtained her Master’s degree in cognitive neuroscience (cognitive modelling specialisation) from the University of Groningen. She then worked as a data science analyst at a consulting company before joining the predictive clinical neuroscience lab at the Donders Institute for her PhD.