Common Mental Disorders in Smart City Settings and Use of Multimodal Medical Sensor Fusion to Detect Them

Diagnostics (Basel). 2023 Mar 13;13(6):1082. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics13061082.

Abstract

Cities have undergone numerous permanent transformations at times of severe disruption. The Lisbon earthquake of 1755, for example, sparked the development of seismic construction rules. In 1848, when cholera spread through London, the first health law in the United Kingdom was passed. The Chicago fire of 1871 led to stricter building rules, which led to taller skyscrapers that were less likely to catch fire. Along similar lines, the COVID-19 epidemic may have a lasting effect, having pushed the global shift towards greener, more digital, and more inclusive cities. The pandemic highlighted the significance of smart/remote healthcare. Specifically, the elderly delayed seeking medical help for fear of contracting the infection. As a result, remote medical services were seen as a key way to keep healthcare services running smoothly. When it comes to both human and environmental health, cities play a critical role. By concentrating people and resources in a single location, the urban environment generates both health risks and opportunities to improve health. In this manuscript, we have identified the most common mental disorders and their prevalence rates in cities. We have also identified the factors that contribute to the development of mental health issues in urban spaces. Through careful analysis, we have found that multimodal feature fusion is the best method for measuring and analysing multiple signal types in real time. However, when utilizing multimodal signals, the most important issue is how we might combine them; this is an area of burgeoning research interest. To this end, we have highlighted ways to combine multimodal features for detecting and predicting mental issues such as anxiety, mood state recognition, suicidal tendencies, and substance abuse.

Keywords: data fusion; depression; mental health; smart city; smart health.

Publication types

  • Review