A rise has been witnessed in the number of patients getting diagnosed with depression. It becomes a task to diagnose such conditions. But not to worry as researchers from the Northwestern University have found an answer. They have developed a new mobile application known as Purple Robot, which can detect depression.

Through many sensors, including location, movement and patterns of use in the smartphone, the mobile app can collect the data. The data can be used to come up with an objective tool to find out whether or not the person is having depression.

SohrobSaeb from the Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine said that they have utilized the data from 28 people who were having the depression. The researchers said that they have attained 87% success date in diagnosing depression.

People suffering from depression were four times more likely to use their phones than the ones who were normal. It was also found that people having depressive symptoms were likely to spend more time at home.

The researchers said that these spent an average of 68 minutes a day staring at their phones or other devices. “The main reason for the development of the app is to see if we can objectively and passively identify if people are depressed”, said the researchers.

David Mohr, Director of the Centre for Behavioral Intervention Technologies at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said that depressed people might be spending more time using smartphones, so that they can avoid thinking of other things that trouble them.