Clinical and Objective Psychiatric Analyses

Psychiatric disorders affect one in eight people worldwide, making mental health a major global challenge. Conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), already widespread, are surging under the pressure of global crises.

Beyond psychological suffering, the life expectancy of those affected is reduced by 10 to 20 years compared to the average, largely due to an increased risk of physical illness. Compounding this is the stigmatization of psychiatric disorders: lack of awareness, misconceptions, and fear—all obstacles that fuel social exclusion and hinder access to care.

Despite major scientific advances, our understanding of these disorders remains limited. We still do not fully comprehend the biological and neurological mechanisms at play, which stalls therapeutic innovation.

Even today, psychiatry lacks paraclinical tools equivalent to the imaging or biological tests used in other medical disciplines. Making a diagnosis in psychiatry relies solely on subjective clinical observation: the physician analyzes symptoms to establish a diagnostic profile.

This diagnostic method has a major limitation: the same disorder can manifest very differently from one patient to another, and conversely, identical symptoms can be observed across multiple pathologies. This high degree of heterogeneity hinders diagnostic precision, therapeutic efficacy, and the identification of biomarkers.

CALYPSO seeks to enrich clinical psychiatry by objectifying non-verbal behavior and physiology through augmented clinical interviews. The goal is to identify and validate objective clinical markers, allowing for better characterization of disorders, the identification of symptomatic subtypes, and ultimately, the development of predictive models for clinical trajectories (treatment response, relapse, chronicity).

CALYPSO does not seek to detect the illness itself but focuses on outlining the heterogeneous dimensions of symptoms within psychiatric populations. This study is rooted in clinical realism: it focuses on the psychiatrist's actual experience—what is seen, heard, and felt in the consultation room—and transforms these impressions into structured data.

Gaining a better grasp of the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders is a necessary step in improving therapeutic strategies. CALYPSO is therefore also committed to studying cognitive, affective, and brain correlates, making it possible to deepen the understanding of the dynamic and integrative processes at the origin of the disorder, to refine the characterization of identified patient subgroups, and thus to improve patient care.

Each participant takes part in clinical interviews during which they complete clinical assessments (for example, the Hamilton scale) and digital tasks. Sensors and cameras record voice, gestures, facial expressions and motor behaviour. Data are collected through a secure web platform, anonymised, then analysed using advanced machine learning techniques.

By drawing on these multimodal data — facial expressions, voice recordings, motor activity, tactile interactions, physiological signals — obtained non-invasively and combined with standardised clinical and neuropsychological assessments, CALYPSO establishes objective and quantifiable markers of mental health.

Protocol steps

1. Patient recruitment.
2. Clinical assessment.
3. Data collection.
4. Analysis.
5. Follow-up coupled with therapeutic care.
6. Follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months.

Complementary studies

Complementary studies may be proposed to participants, based on additional experimental assessments. They extend the main non-invasive evaluation with cognitive, neurophysiological, behavioural and affective measures, using dedicated research equipment (eye tracking, electroencephalography, electrocardiography, etc.) coupled with behavioural tasks.

Note: patient care remains identical to what is usually offered in the participating institutions. Participation in the CALYPSO study does not entail any modification of diagnostic or therapeutic decisions, which remain the sole responsibility of the referring clinician.

The CALYPSO project aims to advance the field of mental health by providing valuable insights for society, addressing the current limitations of psychiatric diagnosis, and opening new perspectives for the prevention and treatment of psychiatric disorders.

This work will contribute to a better understanding of psychiatric disorders and lay the foundations for prevention and intervention strategies that are more closely tailored to individuals at risk or already affected.