2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

India is home to the second largest number of diabetes patients in the world, with more than half remaining undiagnosed. For many, distance, cost, and lack of resources prevents millions of people from accessing diagnostic blood tests. However, over a billion people living in India have mobile phones, which can now be used to save their lives.

India’s vast geographical expanse and uneven distribution of healthcare facilities make accessing diagnostic tests challenging for millions, especially in rural areas. The cost of healthcare, including blood tests, can be prohibitive for many Indians, leading to delayed or neglected health concerns. However, over a billion people living in India have mobile phones. With Voice to Diabetes, the widespread use of mobile phones across socioeconomic strata can now be leveraged to address healthcare disparities and save lives.

Voice to Diabetes is an innovative tool that leverages AI to diagnose Type 2 diabetes based on the analysis of a person's voice. Over the last year, a Toronto-based research team of digital health scientists, have been using vocal biomarkers and AI to usher in a game-changing, new way of disease detection to challenge this barrier to accessible healthcare.

Traditionally, Type 2 diabetes diagnosis involves invasive blood work, but this study introduces a non-invasive and efficient alternative. Voice to Diabetes harnesses AI and machine learning techniques to detect subtle vocal changes that are imperceptible to the human ear. By incorporating features like pitch and intensity changes, the tool successfully distinguishes between individuals with and without Type 2 diabetes.

The study, published in December 2023 in a Mayo Clinic journal, involved 267 participants in India, with 192 without diabetes and 75 with a prior diagnosis. Using a smartphone app, participants recorded short voice clips multiple times daily for two weeks. The team analyzed 18,465 recordings, identifying 14 different acoustic characteristics that led to the creation of a highly accurate diabetes
identification tool.

For women, changes in pitch and deviation from the average pitch were crucial, while for men, the diagnosis relied on variations in voice strength or amplitude. With an accuracy of up to 89% for women and 86% for men, this innovative approach could pave the way for an accurate, low-cost, and accessible test for diabetes.

The team’s work has been covered in 65+ countries worldwide, including Canada, the U.S., the UK, Japan, China, Germany, France, and Brazil and by major Canadian outlets like The Globe and Mail, and the Toronto Star. It was also awarded the Innovation Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June 2024.

By focusing on making disease detection more accessible and affordable, and using science for good, the team’s work has resulted in new hospital and NGO partnerships globally (including a leading Toronto hospital network) and 16 subsequent vocal biomarker studies focused on other areas, including concussion, gestational diabetes, and oncology. They are also in discussions with top healthcare, technology, and venture capital firms interested in commercializing
their innovations.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Rich Levy, Klick Health
Executive Creative Director: Bernardo Romero, Klick Health
Executive Creative Director: Tim Jones, Klick Health
VP, Group Creative Director: Amy Fortunato, Klick Health
VP, Group Creative Director: Andrea Bistany, Klick Health
SVP, Digital Health R&D: Yan Fossat, Klick Health
Lead Scientist: Jaycee Kaufman, Klick Health
Engineering Lead: Anirudh Thommandram, Klick Health
SVP, Communications: Sheryl Steinberg, Klick Health
Director, Communications: Marisa McWilliams, Klick Health
Manager, Communications: Amanda Ferguson, Klick Health
Senior Associate Creative Producer: Holly Phipps, Klick Health