Nemesysco’s Voice Analysis Helps Detect Mental Stress

Psycholosoft, a research group affiliated with the Department of Psychology at Japan’s Tsukuba University, determined that Nemesysco’s Layered Voice Analysis (LVA) technology is a reliable and valid tool for detecting mental stress through speech.

The study, conducted on a group of 106 healthy participants in Japan, found that LVA helps detect if an individual is under stress.

LVA provides extensive indications to a speaker’s mental condition by sampling voice wave spectrums on millisecond time scales, and then analyzing the waves through acoustic analysis combined with unique voice analysis technologies, to calculate various parameters indicating levels of stress.

The study, aiming to investigate if LVA can detect people under stress, was conducted on 48 males and 58 females. First, stress was assessed by using Speilberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and blood pressure measurements. Then, subjects were randomly assigned to the stressful task group and the control group. Before the task began, all of the subjects were asked to answer 10 questions vocally, and they were all recorded. After answering the questions, the task group underwent a stressful quiz whereas the control group just read aloud words. Once the tasks were completed, STAI-S and blood pressure were measured again. As a result, the same fundamental parameters of LVA along with STAI-S and systolic blood pressure changed significantly in the stressful task group, concluding that LVA can detect whether a person is experiencing mental stress.

"To date, several technologies for detecting stress using voice analysis have been recognized, though the findings with regard to their validity remain controversial. The current study examined the reliability and validity of Nemesysco’s Layered Voice Analysis technology and found that it can be useful for assessing stress from the human voice", said Hirokazu Tachikawa, chief researcher at Psycholosoft, in the report.

"The study conducted by the research group is of extreme importance to us, as it indicates that LVA technology can be used to reliably identify people suffering from stress. In today’s work-driven world, the ability to detect stress and depression in a non-intrusive manner – through an ordinary, easygoing conversation - can literally help save lives," said Amir Liberman, CEO and founder of Nemesysco, in a stattement.