Voice algorithms spot Parkinson's disease (BBC)

By Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter, TEDGlobal, Edinburgh

Parkinson's is a devastating disease for those living with the condition and currently there is no cure.

Diagnosis can also be slow as there are no blood tests to detect it.

But now mathematician Max Little has come up with a non-invasive, cheap test which he hopes will offer a quick new way to identify the disease.

He will be kicking off the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh calling for volunteers to contribute to a huge voice database.

Mr Little has discovered that Parkinson's symptoms can be detected by computer algorithms that analyse voice recordings.

In a blind test of voices, the system was able to spot those with Parkinson's with an accuracy of 86%.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18427851