- First and only stress analysis model to detect both acoustic and semantic patterns in voice
- Tool created after research shows almost three quarters (71%) of the nation are currently stressed
- Delivers stress score and visual stress portrait in only 90-seconds
London, [10th August, 2021] – Health service company Cigna Europe is today launching a new, pioneering voice stress detector, Cigna StressWaves Test, designed to evaluate stress levels in only 90 seconds.
Created in partnership with Ellipsis Health, a medical technology developer and leader in AI health and vocal biomarkers, the groundbreaking technology listens to the pitch, tone, word choice, and pauses in the user’s speech to give a measured reading of their current stress level. It is currently the only tool on the market that analyses stress through acoustic and semantic patterns, and follows more than two decades of research.
The advanced AI is free to use, and is based on training a dataset of over 15,000 adults aged from 18-80+, ensuring the algorithms were robust enough to cater for different populations with varying accents and levels of English-speaking ability.
In addition to design considerations for age, sex, and education-level, the free online test is also interoperable with various systems and on any electronic device, as long as there is a microphone and internet connection. Users are invited to answer open-ended, low-stigma questions for 90 seconds enabling an algorithm, coupled with industry-leading health science, to then provide a visualisation using colour and movement of the individual’s stress – from ‘extremely stressed’ to ‘no stress’.
With mental health problems costing England alone £119 billion last year*, Cigna Europe’s recent 360 Well-Being Survey, reveals the growing importance of mental health as part of overall health and well-being. Additionally, the research shows that 71% of people in the UK report being stressed (versus 83% of people globally), with 12% experiencing unmanageable stress (versus 13% globally).
Dr Peter Mills, Associate Medical Director, Cigna Europe, said: “Stress and mental health issues have been pushed up the agenda in recent years. While this increased awareness is a positive change, the pandemic has created many new pressures in our lives. If stress goes unchecked, we may see dramatic consequences and that’s why innovative health tools like the Cigna StressWaves Test are so important. By providing simple solutions at scale that are easy to use and accessible when the people need them most, we can encourage people to learn more about stress and seek professional help as appropriate.”
On the importance of this partnership, Dr Michael Aratow, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Ellipsis Health adds, “The best medicine is prevention. We are proud to partner with Cigna to offer the StressWaves Test to the general public for free, so that we can help individuals around the world address their stress as early as possible to prevent it from progressing into more serious mental health issues.”
The test will not retain the voice recordings once they have been used to produce the stress measurements, and is fully HIPAA and GDPR compliant. To take control of your stress today, complete the Cigna StressWaves Test at www.cignastresswaves.com and www.stresswaves.cignaglobal.com for employers.
To explore Cigna’s stress care resources, download the free Body&Mind App or get in touch with specialists for professional help directly if you are a Cigna customer.
-Ends-
About Cigna’s European businesses (“Cigna Europe”)
Cigna (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and peace of mind. Cigna’s European businesses (“Cigna Europe”) has more than 60 years of experience in designing, implementing and managing international group health insurance and employee benefits programmes for domestic and international recruited staff from European corporations, International Organisations (IGO & NGO) and governments. We also provide healthcare for globally mobile individuals.
To support its customers, Cigna Europe has dedicated offices in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Kenya, Dubai, the United States and Malaysia. Over the years, we have acquired an in-depth understanding of the daily challenges faced by domestic and international organisations, and their staff members in managing their Whole Health.
