Purchase Expands Linus Health’s Cognitive Assessment Capabilities

Linus Health, a digital health company enabling early detection of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, today announced it has acquired Aural Analytics, a leader in clinical-grade speech analytics. The deal includes Aural Analytics’ assets, including its technology and intellectual property.

With the acquisition of Aural Analytics, Linus Health, the leader in multimodal cognitive assessments, has added clinical-grade speech analytics to its platform. This allows Linus Health to further enable researchers and clinicians to identify cognitive impairment and better understand the characteristics of those impairments.

“Our voices reveal essential aspects of our mental state and brain function. Technology can extract such metrics with exquisite precision. Aural Analytics has worked in the development and processing of voice metrics, and integrating them with other signals captured by the Linus Health platform will substantially expand our unique brain health assessment capabilities,” said Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Linus Health.

The acquisition expands Linus Health’s operations into the life sciences industry. Aural Analytics’ speech analytics software, called Speech Vitals, is used by leading healthcare systems and life science organizations in pharmaceutical research and clinical trials. It collects samples of speech from patients via app-based tests and evaluates them to assess cognitive conditions. Speech Vitals’ patented technology has been used to detect multiple neurological conditions, such as dementia, autism, and ALS.

It complements Linus Health’s focus on the early detection of Alzheimer’s and other forms of cognitive impairment and dementia by equipping healthcare providers with digital cognitive assessment tools, such as the award-winning Digital Clock and Recall (DCR). Linus Health had previously tested some aspects of Aural Analytics’ voice analysis in its multimodal algorithms and the combination has outperformed standard paper-and-pencil tests. The acquisition allows Linus Health to fully integrate Aural Analytics’ technology for even more accurate performance and develop additional tools for use by clinicians.

Since its launch in 2015, Arizona-based Aural Analytics has earned a number of distinctions, including:

• Speech Vitals – ALS technology designated by FDA as a Breakthrough Device
• Participation in EverythingALS early detection study and more than 30 other clinical studies
• FDA registration of Speech Vitals as a computerized cognitive assessment aid

The acquisition of Aural Analytics is the latest strategic move in Linus Health’s construction of the most comprehensive cognitive and brain health assessment platform. Since 2020 it has acquired Kinesis Health Technologies, a leader in physical function assessment for older adults, and Digital Cognition Technologies, a leader in digital cognitive assessment.

Aural Analytics and Linus Health have participated jointly in clinical trials, including Bio-Hermes. The experience revealed the promise of combining their respective offerings into a powerful multimodal solution. Speech analysis yields valuable insights into brain function both at a moment in time, and especially over time. Aural Analytics not only does speech analytics, but has proprietary technology in the acoustic analysis of voice. Integration of Aural’s analyses into Linus Health’s multimodal process-based assessments yields even deeper insights into brain function and the ability to identify early brain-related dysfunction quickly.

“Thanks to the nature of software, our platform can distribute new, advanced, and validated digital diagnostics to the market globally with unprecedented speed,” said Linus Health CEO and Co-Founder David Bates, PhD. “As with any chronic illness, earlier detection of brain-related disabilities allows for intervention that can delay, modify, or even prevent progression of the disease. It’s why we are engineering the most inclusive approach to assessing and monitoring brain function, one that includes speech and movement, in addition to memory and other neurological functions.”

Widespread use of effective screening followed by appropriate interventions and monitoring will benefit hundreds of millions of patients worldwide.

Clients of both companies can expect a seamless transition during the integration of the two companies and can continue to contact their current representatives for support needs.

About Linus Health

Linus Health is a Boston-based digital health company focused on transforming brain health for people across the world. By advancing how we detect and address cognitive and brain disorders – leveraging cutting-edge neuroscience, clinical expertise, and artificial intelligence – our goal is to enable a future where people can live longer, happier, and healthier lives with better brain health. Linus Health’s digital cognitive assessment platform delivers a proven, practical means of enabling early detection, empowers providers with actionable clinical insights, and supports individuals with personalized action plans. We are proud to partner with leading healthcare delivery organizations, research institutions, and life sciences companies to accelerate more proactive intervention and personalized care in brain health. To learn more about our practical solutions for proactive brain health, visit linushealth.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Originally announced March 11th, 2024