Voice Analysis

Voice Analysis is a cognitive assessment tool from Cambridge Cognition, developed in partnership with Winterlight Labs, that uses voice biomarkers to monitor neurological and psychiatric disorders. It is designed for use in clinical research and drug development studies where verbal tasks can capture cognitive changes that visual tasks alone cannot detect.

The platform analyses both the content of speech (what is said) and its acoustic properties (how it is said), providing a fuller picture of patient functioning at individual and group levels. Changes in the brain and nervous system can affect speech and language, making voice-based measures a useful complement to standard cognitive assessments.

Core Capabilities

• Automated Speech Recognition (ASR): Provides real-time, automated scoring for immediate feedback. Adaptive tasks are used to generate richer data while maintaining user comfort.
• High scoring accuracy: Verbal tasks are scientifically validated and reported to achieve up to 98% scoring accuracy.
• Natural language analysis: Open-ended conversational tasks measure both acoustic and linguistic changes, including word-finding difficulty, coherence, and language fluency.
• Manual and ASR transcription: Both options are available, supporting gold-standard analysis or real-time analysis depending on study requirements.

Cognitive Domains and Tasks

Voice assessments cover a range of cognitive abilities including associative and episodic memory, language, motor function, verbal learning, and short-term and working memory. The following specific tasks are available:

• Digit Span (DGS)
• Category Fluency
• Letter Fluency
• Diadochokinetic Rate (DDK)
• Journalling
• Verbal Paired Associates (VPA)
• Paragraph Reading
• Paragraph Recall
• Picture Description
• Sustained Phonation

Study and Operational Benefits

• Highly scalable design supports use across large study populations.
• Faster administration compared to traditional verbal assessment methods.
• Improved user experience through short, automated tasks.
• Sensitive to cognitive change, supporting earlier detection of disease-related differences.

The voice analysis platform integrates with Cambridge Cognition's CANTAB® cognitive assessment battery and is available across multiple device types, including web-based browsers, tablets, and smartphones. It is applicable across a broad range of therapeutic areas including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological and psychiatric conditions.