Thinking about depression treatment is likely to depress you. The disease, which is the world’s leading cause of disability, affects an estimated 300 million people globally. Although there are plenty of possible treatments, doctors have no reliable way to know what’s best for each patient. Many people struggle with depression for years — enduring medication side effects and feelings of despair — while they contend with what’s now a trial-and-error effort.
The company is using GPU-accelerated deep learning to predict the best treatments based on a patient’s symptoms, demographics and the results of certain medical tests. Its work so far earned it a spot as one of the top 10 teams in the ongoing $5 million IBM Watson AI XPRIZE Competition,
