When it comes to mental healthcare, those that need it most are often least able to access it. Mobio Interactive, a Singapore-based Public Benefit Corp., aims to address that gap by using low-cost tools to expand care. Its app enables psychiatrists and other mental health providers to screen and monitor patients remotely via smartphone cameras.
Patients record 30-second selfie videos and Mobio’s AI software analyzes changes in blood volume in the skin for signs of depression, anxiety and psychological stress. Mobio’s technology draws on more than a decade of clinical studies and more than 3.5 million datapoints from 425,000 selfie scans.
“The future of mental health is data-driven,” said Mobio’s Barbara Saab. “The solution isn’t just more therapists—it’s smarter, more objective tools that scale.” J&J Impact Ventures, the impact investing fund of Johnson & Johnson Foundation, which invested an undisclosed amount of capital in the company to support its geographic expansion.
(Disclosure: J&J Impact Ventures sponsors ImpactAlpha’s Investing in Health coverage).
Global mental health
Mobio partners with hospitals, telehealth networks and insurers worldwide, including the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s Center for Addiction and Mental health, Canada’s largest mental health teaching hospital.
The company is looking to expand access to its app in places with a shortage of mental health services and professionals. Earlier this year it launched in the Indian state of Karnataka and is using an educational grant from J&J to train community health workers there on digital mental health tools.
“We recognize the power of data-driven insights combined with enabling digital literacy to unlock the full potential of Mobio’s technology,” said Johnson & Johnson’s Sarah Mullane.
