BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sonde Health Inc., an affiliate of PureTech Health (PureTech Health plc, PRTC.L) developing a voice-based technology platform for monitoring and diagnosing mental and physical medical conditions, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and Intellectual Property Australia (IP Australia) have issued U.S. Patent No. 9,936,914 and Australian Patent No. 2014374349. The U.S. patent, which provides coverage until 2032, is focused on extracting proprietary acoustic features from targeted segments of speech to measure vocal biomarkers for physical or psychological conditions. The patent issued by IP Australia broadly covers the use of vocal biomarker technology to detect physical or psychological conditions in the human body and provides coverage until 2034. These technologies may potentially be used to detect a range of conditions including major depressive disorder (MDD), Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis, among others. Both patents are exclusively licensed under an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
“These newly issued patents represent, to the best of our knowledge, the only coverage for unique classes of vocal biomarkers that demonstrate enhanced vocal analysis performance and accurate assessment of a broad range of physical and psychological conditions,” said Jim Harper, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Sonde. “Issuance of these patents further strengthens our leading intellectual property portfolio in the emerging field of acoustic voice analysis and validates our novel technology platform for the assessment and detection of various medical conditions.”
Sonde’s proprietary voice-based technology, being developed internally, has been tested in over 3,000 subjects for the detection of neurophysiological conditions, such as depressive disorders. Sonde’s platform is designed to enable voice-interactive devices, including smartphones, to detect and quantify a rapidly growing number of health-related features through subtle characteristic changes in the voice. Sonde has the potential to fundamentally change the way mental and physical health is monitored, managed and diagnosed.
These two licensed patents are part of Sonde’s broad intellectual property portfolio covering methods of assessing physical and psychological conditions from human speech through the company’s vocal biomarker technology. Issued and pending patents applications provide Sonde a leading position in the field of acoustic voice analysis.
About Sonde Health
Sonde Health, an affiliate of PureTech (PureTech Health plc, PRTC.L) is developing a voice-based technology platform to monitor and diagnose psychological and physical medical conditions. Sonde’s proprietary technology works by sensing and analyzing subtle changes in the voice to create a range of persistent brain, muscle, and respiratory health measurements that provide a more complete picture of health in just seconds. To date, Sonde has collected voice data from over 3,000 subjects as part of the ongoing validation of its platform, and it has also initiated research and development to expand its proprietary technology into Alzheimer's, respiratory, and cardiovascular disease, as well as other health and wellness conditions. Sonde’s Vocal Biomarker program has demonstrated the potential to effectively screen and monitor for disease using information obtained from an individual’s voice on commonly-owned devices and it has the potential to fundamentally change the way mental and physical health is monitored and diagnosed.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains statements that are or may be forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to the company's future prospects, developments and strategies. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors included in the regulatory filings for PureTech Health plc. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of the company and the environment in which it will operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press release. Except as required by law and regulatory requirements, neither the company nor any other party intends to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
