Entrepreneur Spotlight
Aural Analytics
Visar Berisha and Julie Liss are professors in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and College of Health Solutions. Their research has made national headlines in recent years for its potential to transform early diagnosis of neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Through their analysis of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s public speeches, made over the course of his time in office, Berisha and Liss were able to demonstrate the ways in which subtle changes in speaking patterns may predict neurological problems far more quickly than current clinical methods can. Groundbreaking as this research may be, there are limits. Not every individual has a trove of information as vast as a U.S. president. Or do we? By some estimates, people spend an average of four hours a day on their smartphones, and these devices capture valuable data about human behavior, including movement patterns, communication markers and even changes in facial expression. Berisha and Liss believe this information could have an incredible impact on neurological research. With the help of the Edson E+I Venture Devils program and former Venture Mentor Daniel Jones, who serves as CEO, they have set out to prove it. Aural Analytics launched in 2015 with the goal of developing a technology capable of analyzing everyday interactions on your phone, email or social media, and using it to examine neurological health. Proprietary metrics capture subtle changes in speech through a simple app installed on your phone or tablet and use them to monitor brain function. Aural Analytics’ suite of mobile-first, patient-centric applications — available in up to 30 languages across Android, iOS and the web — are easy to use and secure. They provide robust, clinically relevant, interpretable and validated metrics reflecting the neurological and respiratory health of users. Aural Analytics has successfully raised $5.3 million in equity funding, secured nearly $2 million in grant funding from the NSF and NIH, and grown its commercial footprint with the successful launches of its Speech Vitals and A2E software products. The team of 23 full-time and part-time employees will launch several pivotal studies in 2021 to further demonstrate the safety and efficacy of its software suite and is currently pursuing multiple 510(k)s with the FDA.
