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BioDigit Speech™

Objective speech analysis for clinic and remote assessments.

BioDigit Speech collects and automatically analyzes speech recordings for clinical research. Using automatic speech recognition and AI-driven models, it extracts more than 40 vocal features across supported assessments to help researchers characterize speech changes in neurological and mental health disorders.

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FDA accepts BioDigit Speech Letter of Intent for review in PSP

The FDA ISTAND program has accepted for review a Letter of Intent proposing BioDigit Speech measures for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) trials.

View the qualification pathway

Speech as a window into neuromotor and cognitive health

Speech draws on coordinated respiratory, vocal, articulatory, and cognitive processes. Changes in voice quality, timing, and clarity can offer insight into aspects of function that matter in clinical research. BioDigit Speech extracts features of phonation, articulation, prosody, and intelligibility from speech recordings. It combines speech recognition with acoustic analysis to support standardized assessments and the study of speech changes over time in multisite and decentralized clinical trials.

What BioDigit Speech measures

BioDigit Speech extracts more than 40 vocal features across supported tasks, spanning voice production, articulation, speech rhythm, and estimated intelligibility. The features available depend on the assessment and language.

  • Phonatory features

    Voice characteristics from sustained phonation, including pitch, vocal intensity, and stability.

  • Articulatory features

    Measures of speech timing and articulation derived from recordings and acoustic analysis.

  • Prosodic features

    Rhythm, stress, and intonation patterns across connected speech.

  • Intelligibility features

    Speech recognition models estimate intelligibility from transcription performance.

  • Speech and function

    Speech features that researchers can relate to clinical measures of motor and cognitive function.

  • Over 40 vocal features

    A broad set of vocal features extracted automatically across supported speech assessments.

How automated speech analysis works

BioDigit Speech combines speech recognition and acoustic analysis to calculate vocal features from standardized tasks. Recordings collected in the clinic or at home can be analyzed with the same study-specific workflow.

  • Automated speech recognition

    Speech recognition models generate transcripts and word timings for supported speech tasks.

  • Signal-level analysis

    Analysis of the audio waveform, spectrum, and cepstrum captures fine-grained acoustic detail.

  • Over 40 objective features

    More than 40 vocal features are available across the supported speech assessments.

  • Repeatable scoring

    Applying the same algorithm to recordings reduces reliance on subjective scoring and supports consistent analysis.

  • Multilingual analysis

    Used in clinical trials in more than 10 languages, with tasks and analysis configured for each language.

  • Research-supported measures

    Measures evaluated in clinical studies, with development supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Validation of BioDigit Speech measures

Our validation work compares automated measures with expert ratings and examines their relationship to clinical change. PSP studies include intelligibility scoring and longitudinal speech assessment over up to 12 months.

  • Agreement with expert raters

    In 49 participants with PSP, BioDigit Speech intelligibility scores from standardized passage reading were compared with the mean ratings of three experts. For native speakers, r = 0.90 and ICC = 0.84; automated scores were systematically lower.

  • Longitudinal evidence in PSP

    In a published study of 32 native English-speaking participants with PSP-Richardson's syndrome followed for up to 12 months, speech features were associated with changes in clinical severity. Models developed within this cohort estimated concurrent clinical scores and scores three months later, supporting further study of their prognostic potential.

FDA qualification pathway for our digital speech measures in PSP

The FDA's Innovative Science and Technology Approaches for New Drugs (ISTAND) program provides a pathway for qualifying novel drug development tools for a defined use. The Letter of Intent for BioDigit Speech measures in PSP has been accepted for review.

  • Letter of Intent accepted for review

    The FDA ISTAND program has accepted for review a Letter of Intent proposing BioDigit Speech measures of speech function in native English-speaking adults with PSP. The proposed use is as a drug development tool in PSP clinical trials.

  • Measuring multiple aspects of speech function

    The submission defines speech function as a multidimensional construct spanning articulatory precision, speech timing and fluency, phonatory quality, and prosody, measured from standardized speech tasks with BioDigit Speech.

$3M NIH award supports BioDigit Speech integration into the PSP Trial Platform

Supported by a $3 million NIH award, BioSensics is integrating its digital health technologies, including BioDigit Speech, into the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Trial Platform (PTP). The platform is designed to evaluate multiple candidate therapies under a shared protocol, with approximately 50 sites planned across North America.

Learn about the PTP (opens in a new tab)

BioDigit Speech specifications

BioDigit Speech specifications
Specification Details
Modality Software for collection and automated analysis of speech recordings
Vocal features More than 40 vocal features across supported speech assessments
Feature domains Phonatory, articulatory, prosodic, and estimated intelligibility features
Analysis method Automated speech recognition with AI-driven models; analysis of audio waveform, spectrum, and cepstrum
Scoring Automated feature calculation using a consistent study-specific workflow
Assessments Configurable tasks including passage reading, sustained vowel phonation, counting, and syllable repetition
Languages Used in clinical trials in more than 10 languages; supported tasks and features vary by language
Development Developed with the support of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

BioDigit Speech data availability across disease cohorts

The BioDigit Database includes speech recordings and derived measures from healthy participants and disease-specific research cohorts. Research and industry partners can discuss access to datasets relevant to their study, subject to data availability and access agreements.

  • Healthy controls

    Speech recordings from healthy participants for comparison with disease-specific research cohorts.

  • Alzheimer's disease and other dementias

    Speech timing, pitch, and intelligibility measures for research into their relationship with cognitive function.

  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

    Phonatory and articulatory measures for research into speech changes associated with bulbar involvement.

  • Corticobasal syndrome

    Speech recordings for studying changes in articulation, timing, and language-related performance.

  • Huntington disease

    Speech measures for studying differences across disease stages and associations with clinical severity.

  • Myasthenia gravis

    Speech and voice measures for studying changes associated with fatigable weakness.

  • Parkinson's disease

    Voice, timing, and prosodic features for studying speech impairment in Parkinson's disease.

  • Progressive supranuclear palsy

    Speech measures studied for differences between progressive supranuclear palsy and Parkinson's disease and for associations with clinical change.

  • Spinocerebellar ataxia

    Speech recordings for studying irregular rhythm and articulation associated with ataxic dysarthria.

BioDigit Speech publications and presentations

Explore peer-reviewed articles and conference abstracts using BioDigit Speech across neurological and neuromuscular research.

Part of the BioSensics ecosystem

Combine BioDigit Speech with other BioSensics assessments in a single study protocol. Integrated data collection and portal access help teams manage clinic and remote assessments together.

  • Video assessment

    BioDigit Video

    Automated analysis of video-based assessments of movement and facial function in clinical trials.

  • In-clinic assessment

    BioDigit Clinic

    Speech, video, cognitive, and fine motor assessments at clinical sites through a single platform.

  • At-home monitoring

    BioDigit Home

    Self-administered and remotely supervised assessments, including speech, at home.

  • Cognitive assessments

    BioDigit Cognition

    Standardized cognitive assessments with automated scoring, administered in the clinic or at home on the same platforms.

Bring speech assessment into your study

Contact our team to discuss speech assessments, supported languages, and integration into your study.

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