AniTech, the developer of an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to detect early signs of depression, plans to launch its technology next year to tackle mental illness and suicide among the city’s population, co-founder and CEO Candy Lau Po-chun said.
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The company operates an electroencephalogram (EEG) brain electrical signal-based screening platform, which can be used to help prevent cases among youth and elderly people – two vulnerable groups in the city known for their high levels of pressure and stress in life, it said.
“While Hong Kong legislators have made efforts to support those with mental illnesses and address related suicides, these are insufficient to find hidden patients such as those with mild symptoms,” Lau said in an interview. “We aim to build on this progress by providing a tool for early screening and prevention.”
Hong Kong recorded 1,138 suicides last year, the highest number since 2003, the Samaritan Befrienders said, based on data from the Coroner’s Court. Cases rose 4 per cent from 2023. Suicides among students almost tripled to 32 cases over a 10-year period to 2023, according to government data.
A Chinese University of Hong Kong survey in 2023 showed a quarter of polled students had mental disorders, while 6.9 per cent had suicidal tendencies.
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Long Covid-19 patients struggle with suicide risk more than 2 years into the pandemic
Co-founder and non-executive director Eddie Ma Chi-him, a professor in neuroscience at City University of Hong Kong, built the AniTech platform using decades of research on EEG signals.