More great news to follow as a recent report has revealed that mental illness or problems like schizophrenia and depression could be easily diagnosed by plugging some electrode into the person’s ear and rocking them over a chair. This efficient invention has come from the researchers at the Monash University and they strongly believe that this invention could bring wonders and also revolutionize the treatment and diagnosis of various mental related illness. Brian Lithgow, Biomechanical engineer, Monach University, calls this invention as “electrovestibulography”. Explaining this in common terms, Brain says this method is something similar to an Electrocardiogram, ECG for mind. The new method analyzes the electrical signals in the brain just as ECG which is used to detect heart related problems.

The electrode which is place in the patient’s ear is used to detect the changes in electrical patterns in the balance system of the patient which is normally linked to the naïve parts of one’s brain relating to behavior and emotions. Brain has been working with psychiatrists in running tests and conducting surveys from Monash University’s MAPrc (Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre). He had been doing this to see if he can find out the unique and special electrical signals that are attached to mental illness like bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia.

The university is also developing the new device with some corporate partner in order to get a patent and market the technology. Speaking about this, Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, head of MAPrc, said that the newly invented device could prove to be a finest solution and also a breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. She also insisted that the average time to diagnosis a bipolar disorder today takes around 12 years. She also added that in this time span if the problem was not picked up, it could lead to lots of social, relationships and even career damages and suggested a solution that if these disorders are picked up earlier they could be easily treated with the help of mood stabilizers.

Apart from diagnosing the disease, the new device also helps to track the patient’s response to the medication and can help in finding out whether it works in controlling the disorder. Kulkarni also stressed that it is still early days as only few papers are published and smaller number of people are tested with this new technique. She even said that they wont be confident to say this is the effective solution until it is tested among thousands. Speaking further she said it is too early to clearly say that the device could detect the minute signals to diagnose mental illness which would qualify it for a screening. ”We have to be very careful when thinking about using this device as screening for mental illness as still there is some sigma attached to it,” Kulkarni said to the press.