When it comes to assessing a patient’s health, each therapeutic area has its own data collection tools. Think of glucose monitors for diabetes and heart monitors for cardiovascular diseases. But in the field of mental health, a doctor relies on what a patient says. Self-disclosure is incomplete and lacks objectivity, says George Eleftheriou, CEO and co-founder of Feel Therapeutics.
Feel seeks to provide more comprehensive and objective data collection in the mental health space. The San Francisco-based startup achieves this with wearable technology that continuously collects data and makes recommendations.
“One of the things we hear is how poor people are as storytellers [how they] I can’t really describe what happened in the last few weeks,” Eleftheriou said. “That’s what we bring to the table. We bring the data to light.”
The Feel platform receives data through a bracelet that continuously monitors physiological signs such as skin temperature, sweat and heart rate. “You sweat when you’re stressed and your heart beats faster when you’re angry,” Eleftheriou explained. These indicators can provide information about a person’s emotional state. In addition to biological measurements, the platform monitors a patient’s movements and counts interactions with other devices, which can also be indicators of behavioral changes.
The bracelet connects to a mobile app that uses artificial intelligence and proprietary algorithms to process the data to detect changes and patterns. Insights from this analysis can lead to a data-driven intervention, e.g. B. suggesting a breathing exercise or a mood journal to the user.
Feel has some clinical data to support its approach. In a single-arm study examining the technology in 30 patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, results showed high levels of engagement with the platform and reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms. The results were published last year in JMIR Formative Research. The paper’s authors note that this is a small study and more research is needed in larger, controlled clinical trials to demonstrate effectiveness.
Eleftheriou said more evidence would come from larger studies. The research could support applications seeking FDA approval of the technology. But the Feel platform is already being used to monitor the emotional state of patients. Feel has partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations that use the technology in the clinical testing of experimental neuropsychiatric medicines. The failure rate of clinical trials with such drugs is high. In many cases, failures are attributed to a strong placebo response. Asked whether technology can overcome these reactions, Eleftheriou said the Feel platform provides a more accurate and objective picture of a patient’s mental health.
For Eleftheriou, Feel’s mission is personal. A native of Greece, Eleftheriou earned a degree in electrical and computer engineering from Columbia University and then took a job as a management consultant in New York. He said the work led to anxiety and panic attacks. A therapist guided Eleftheriou through traditional techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy and mood journaling.
Haris Tsirmpas, co-founder of Feel, is the company’s chief technology officer but also a long-time friend of Eleftheriou. One day the two were talking about Tsirmpas’ biomedical engineering research. Eleftheriou said the discussion brought him back to his experiences in psychotherapy, which offered no way to objectively measure changes in his mental health. In 2015, Eleftheriou and Tsirmpas began developing the technology that would become the Feel platform.
There are other companies with wearable technologies that support pharmaceutical companies’ clinical trials. Similar to Feel, Empatica’s platform consists of a watch-like device that connects to a mobile app. To date, the MIT spinout has received six FDA approvals for its technology. In addition to mental health, the platform can also be applied to therapeutic areas such as cardiology, dermatology, epilepsy, sleep and more. Empatica’s venture capitalists include Sanofi Ventures and RA Capital Management.
Feel has raised more than $13 million in venture capital funding from firms including Felicis Ventures, Anthemis Exponential Ventures and SOSV. Eleftheriou said that in addition to providing evidence for pharmaceutical companies, Feel technology could potentially be used for real-world monitoring of patients taking neuropsychiatric medications. Monitoring a patient’s mental status and making recommendations can help these patients adhere to treatment plans. Feel develops patient support programs in collaboration with major employers in the US and Europe, as well as US-based health insurers. Eleftheriou said Feel technology can personalize intervention and support based on the data collected by the platform. Rather than replacing a therapist, the technology could enhance therapeutic sessions, he said.
“If we could communicate these insights to the provider, the psychotherapist, in a more objective way before or during the session, that would be of tremendous value to them,” Eleftheriou said.
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