Computers to track stress level

JAIPUR: The medicos at SMS Medical College will soon be able to perform computerized tracking of stress levels of a patient providing report of instantaneous changes in his emotional status. In a recent meeting, Rajasthan Medical Relief Society granted approval for the Bio Feedback machine to be installed at the Psychiatric Hospital, Jaipur in Sethi Colony.The machine will not only help the doctors but even the patients will feel motivated to notice the real time progress achieved by them.
"The machine works on the principle that emotional status of a person affects the biological functioning of the body. This will keep a track on the body level and report any anxiety beyond normal levels," said Dr Shiv Gautam, superintendent of psychiatry centre and additional principal SMS Medical College.
The machine will track eight crucial parameters including recording electrical activity along the scalp through electroencephalography (EEG), electro cardio graph (ECG) for heart movement, pulse, respiration, skin conductance and myography to read muscle tension. The city psychiatric centre so far has been performing the task with an outdated technology requiring large scale manual interface. The new machine will, however, provide simultaneous computerized analysis of the test results to provide real time status of body anxiety levels.
Anxiety is the core symptom of all the psychiatric disorders and leads to many physical dysfunctions of various organs. Anxiety exists in all living beings, it is normal and even healthy to a certain level. However, at morbid levels it impacts normal lifestyle of a person.
Nearly 5 % of the population is assumed to have stress levels above the normal but it is often not reflected till it builds up to an extreme level and shows apparent signs, however in such cases treatment becomes difficulty. Even those persons who never develop stress to extreme levels continue to live with mild symptoms. The bio feedback machine can detect such stress at an initial level and help the persons to resume a healthy life. Along with the bio feedback apparatus, the psychiatry centre will also be equipped with close circuit television (CCTV) cameras to monitor the behaviour of indoor patients and staff.