La Trobe University researchers will be investigating the use of artificial intelligence to help improve the lives of thousands of Australian stroke survivors living with Aphasia- a language disorder that affects how a person communicates.
A programme of research funded by the NHMRC called Communication Connect is underway and is using use AI to help build solutions to short and long-term challenges faced by people living with aphasia in the community.
Postdoctoral Fellow and Project Coordinator, Dr John Pierce and research lead Professor Miranda Rose say the program aims to assist people living with aphasia, their carers and healthcare professionals.
“The lives of people living with aphasia change significantly after stroke. Many people don’t return to work or meaningful activities and relationships change which has a significant impact on mood and mental health. People living with aphasia have four times the likelihood of problems with depression and high levels of anxiety.”
Phase one of the research, which will be showcased at the combined Stroke Society of Australasia and Smart Strokes Nursing and Allied Health Scientific Meeting in Melbourne this week, identified the top 10 challenges faced by stroke survivors living with aphasia which included mental health, barriers using technology and a lack of support for carers. Phase two of the research involved researchers and survivors co-designing solutions to those problems.
Several of the solutions involve AI technology including a mood tracker that will use artificial intelligence to track a person’s mood, detect changes and connect them with the right support.
“The mood tracker will keep track of a person’s mood over time and will make recommendations for actions that person can take such as aphasia-friendly mindfulness programs. If the mood changes are more significant, the tracker will request permission for it to contact the person’s carer on their behalf and link them to resources such as their GP.” Dr Pierce said.
The Communication Connect program will also include an aphasia-friendly chat bot that can accept voice input and multiple choice answers and can read facial expressions and gestures, revolutionising communication access for this population.
“Once rolled out, we hope Communication Connect improves quality of life for people with aphasia and their families and increases the effectiveness of support from health professionals,” Dr Pierce said.
