People often put on a brave face when they're feeling blue.
Your smartphone, however, isn't easily fooled. A researcher at a New Jersey university is working on a pair of apps that he hopes will be able to identify signs of depression.
The programs take and analyze photos of the eyes and face while someone uses the smartphone for other purposes.
While the apps are in the early stage of development, it's hoped they are a first step toward an inexpensive diagnostic tool to detect early signs of depression.
The apps are trained to detect patterns in eye and facial movement indicative of depression.
It isn't foolproof, of course. More research is needed.
The eye app looks at the differences between the sizes of the pupil and iris that have been correlated with depressive episodes. The program takes 10-second photo bursts of the eyes when a user first opens the phone.
After analyzing 16,000 interactions by 25 volunteers, a small pilot study found that the app was on the mark in identifying depressive feelings 76% of the time.
Research on the smartphone app indicates that smiling more frequently might signal depression. A team member suggests this could indicate someone putting on a brave face despite feeling blue.
Another movement that might point to depression is a side-to-side yawing of the head in the morning.
If the researchers can fine tune the apps, perhaps our phones will be able to tell us how we're feeling in the not-too-distant future.
But in the meantime, always check with a mental health provider if you're feeling depressed. That same smartphone can be used to call one.
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