Data-driven care is saving lives today.

CAMH’s BrainHealth Databank: making personalized care possible.

Depression is a leading cause of disability affecting more than 260 million people worldwide. One of the many challenges in treating depression is that no two patients are exactly alike in their experience. With so many people suffering from this debilitating mental illness, and each having a unique journey, how then can doctors better help patients? The answer may come from a surprising place: data.

Researchers at CAMH are harnessing the power of data and using technologies like algorithms, deep learning and artificial intelligence to gain new insights into the complexities of mental illness. The hospital’s Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, led by Dr. Sean Hill, has launched the BrainHealth Databank to help deliver improved, personalized mental health care, while accelerating clinical research, discovery and innovation.

The CAMH BrainHealth Databank will improve our understanding of both individuals and broader populations to accelerate personalized care.

One of their top priorities today is improving outcomes for people experiencing depression. The BrainHealth Databank is supporting data-informed, clinical decision-making at the hospital’s outpatient depression clinic. At each clinic visit, patients record changes in their symptoms on a tablet and this information is automatically calculated and displayed on an interactive dashboard that is reviewed by the physician. Both doctor and patient can see in real time how well treatment is working and if adjustments need to be made to the course of treatment.

We can use that data to provide much deeper insight into how to diagnose and treat each individual.

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CAMH’s BrainHealth Databank is also starting to gather genetic and physiological data and integrating this information into novel research that could lead to the discovery of new biomarkers for mental illness—the first step in identifying the cause of symptoms and developing new treatments.

By combining data on the physiology of the brain and genetics, as well as holistic aspects of each individual such as their social interactions, family life, and work history, scientists will be able to achieve data-driven discoveries and innovations that until now have been out of reach.

We can track patients over time on multiple dimensions. We can look at their depression severity and their anxiety, as well as their sleep, their medication, their weight, and use that data over thousands of patients to provide much deeper insight into how to help diagnose and treat each individual.

From each patient’s experience, researchers can also start to identify patterns and relationships in the data, which will ultimately lead to a better understanding of depression. The BrainHealth Databank is currently collecting data from more than 1,000 patients to get a clearer picture of: How unwell are patients when they arrive? Which patients are benefitting the most from treatment? What are the common characteristics that help inform clinicians? Why do some patients respond better to treatment than others?

Progress taking place at CAMH in complex data modelling and analysis is accelerating and will lead to more personalized approaches to care for people who suffer from serious mental illnesses like depression and ensure faster recovery.