Polish medtech startup Vivid Mind has raised $200,000 in Pre-Seed funding from various angel investors. 

According to the WHO, some 50 million people globally suffer from dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease), with undiagnosed cases likely doubling these estimates. The numbers are projected to more than triple over the next generation as lifespans continue to increase. 

And while there is no definitive cure for dementia, there are proven lifestyle changes that can significantly slow the progression of the disease. 

One of the earliest life changes observed in the initial stages of dementia involves voice. Dementia can affect the brain’s ability to process and produce speech. In dementia, the control over muscles involved in speech production can be impaired, affecting, among other things, how vowels are articulated. 

Vivid Mind has come up with a simple short voice test that leverages artificial intelligence and leading-edge sound processing for early detection of dementia. 

The patented Vivid Mind screening method using voice as a biomarker allows one to first represent the sound spectrum in a more accurate way than existing standard methods and then build interpretable features containing relevant information about a subject’s control over their voice. 

This approach is non-invasive, language agnostic, fast, low-cost, and can be deployed remotely throughout the world. 

According to Vivid Mind CEO Dariusz Wiatr: 

“A trial of 298 adults showed our screening had 90 per cent accuracy and also suggested that the test could predict the disease eight years ahead of symptom onset.”

The funds will be used to bridge the Company to its next phase of additional testing and securing regulatory approvals towards its mission to disrupt and improve current screening practices for the deadly disease.

Lead image: Vivid Mind.