Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
Editor's note: This is part of a series looking at the rise of artificial intelligence technology tools such as ChatGPT, the opportunities and risks they pose and what impacts they could have on various aspects of our daily lives.
LEHI — Adam Sharp is on a mission to help people take ownership of their own mental health with the help of artificial intelligence.
After spending years working in health care as an emergency physician and health services researcher, Sharp was ready to take a leap and branch out from traditional health systems.
In 2021, Sharp founded Lehi-based Galvan, along with other health care professionals and blockchain experts. Essentially, Galvan is a company that brings ideas from health care and technology together with the goal of "democratizing" health care and helping people make healthy decisions, Sharp said.
Since then, Galvan's work has led to the company last month launching the Galvan: AI Wellness app. The app incentives users to get active and make healthy decisions by using blockchain technology and syncs fitness data from Apple Watch, Fitbit or Android Watch.
Blockchain is a distributed database or ledger shared among a computer network's nodes — software that people can download onto their computers. The technology is best known for its role in cryptocurrency systems, where it maintains a secure and decentralized record of transactions, according to Investopedia.
"We are able to confirm, with your wearable (smart device), that you were able to get your heart rate into the exercise heart rate parameters. And if you do that, then we calculate it, we count it, we give you points, and then we give you a digital currency which is our IZE points," Sharp said
While this isn't entirely unique — there is a handful of fitness apps out there that incentivize fitness through digital currency — it's Galvan's use of AI that is truly novel.
The app utilizes AI to measure mental health conditions through a person's vocal biomarkers. Through a 20-second voice recording, the algorithm processes millions of data points in a person's speech and shoots back results indicating their stress, mood and energy levels.
"We're not health care providers; we're not making medical diagnoses but what we're able to do is actually use the same tools that a physician uses in a clinical encounter ... and then they assess you and find out if you're not anxious or mildly anxious, moderately or severely anxious," Sharp said. "This can do that in 20 seconds."
The voice analysis algorithm Galvan uses to determine vocal biomarkers was developed through a partnership with Canary Speech, the speech AI team behind Amazon's Alexa.
Sharp said that there are over 2,500 biomarkers in someone's voice and that the AI developed by Canary and used by Galvan is "agnostic" to language.
"It's not listening to the words. It's listening to everything from the pauses to the inflection to the force to, you know, the gap between words and 2,500 other things," Sharp said.
Another novel aspect of this, Sharp said, is that users will be able to use the app to assess their mental health at the moment through real-time feedback as well as tracking it over time to show more long-term trends.
"For the first time ever, you can receive immediate feedback and mental health support from objective data, identify potential triggers for mental health issues and also receive personalized recommendations for self-care and wellness practices," Galvan said in a release.
It's not just physical activity that is incentivized, either.
We're not replacing physicians, we're not replacing your hospital or your health care system, but what we're doing is trying to empower you so you know how to better use that
– Adam Sharp, Galvan creator and CEO
"If you're just checking in to find out how you're doing, to make sure that your stress and your mood are tolerable or not too severe levels, we will reward you," Sharp said.
Galvan also comes with built-in security measures designed to protect user privacy and all data collected is de-identified and stored securely so sensitive information can be kept confidential.
The app, which is free to download, is available in all major app stores. While the app is free up front, the version that allows users to earn rewards and utilize AI bears a monthly cost of $13.99 or a yearly subscription for $99.99.
Additionally, joining the blockchain requires the purchase of a node — priced at $25 for a "Lite" node and $4,100 for a "Smart" node.
Although Sharp is taking an innovative approach to mental health and health care, he isn't trying to reinvent the wheel altogether.
"We're not replacing physicians, we're not replacing your hospital or your health care system, but what we're doing is trying to empower you so you know how to better use that," Sharp said.
He has big ideas for the future of Galvan, too.
"We hope to have a marketplace where people can use this (digital currency) to purchase things, for example, your medications," Sharp said. "Whether those be over-the-counter or prescribed medications, you would be able to use those digital rewards to purchase those."
Galvan is also looking to partner with gyms, which would allow users to use their digital currency to purchase gym memberships.
Currently, the app is only available to people 18 and over. Sharp indicated he hopes to change that in the future and include the ability to use the app within families, something that has been frequently requested by parents hoping to provide extra support for children experiencing mental health challenges.
After its first few weeks, Galvan has thousands of downloads and an average app rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars, according to a release from Galvan.
"The release of Galvan is a significant step forward in the field of mental health and AI," Sharp said. "It has the potential to revolutionize the way wellness is monitored and managed, making it more accessible and convenient for individuals to take ownership of their health."
