Digital biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease using voice and AI
Official title: Digital Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease
Funded at Baylor College of Medicine · NIH-11597081 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Aims to see if voice and language patterns can indicate Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms show up, using existing cohort data and new audio tests.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Baylor College of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2021 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $797,822 |
| NIH project number | 7R01AG070861-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11597081 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 50 and older in the Dallas Heart and Mind Study cohort, including those with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment.
✕Less likely to help
Participants without access to the study’s imaging or CSF biomarker components may see no direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project will collect voice recordings from older adults in a long-running study and analyze speech with advanced AI and acoustic methods. Researchers will combine these vocal features with CSF biomarkers and brain imaging to see if speech changes align with early disease markers. The study builds on prior data and adds voice data to predict cognitive decline over two years. If successful, it could lead to easier and less invasive screening tools for people at risk.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could provide a less invasive way to flag early Alzheimer’s risk through everyday speech.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary results in related work show promise for speech-based biomarkers to reflect dementia risk, but validation is ongoing.
Where this research is happening
-
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hajjar, Ihab M — Baylor College of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Hajjar, Ihab M
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.