Unique among mood disorder mHealth technology, KIOS empowers individual users to track symptoms 24/7/365 and receive immediate expert behavioral advice specific to their changing symptoms. Concurrently, patients generate health data to share with his or her mental health professional between visits. These patient generated reports aid the health care provider with medication management and remote patient monitoring.
KIOS, a DIY Mood Navigator for Bipolar, has been tested at five distinct study sites including a walk-in clinic in Paducah, Kentucky.
“The downloadable report provides timely, specific, and valuable information that I can use to better treat a person suffering from bipolar disorder,” said Dr. John T. Cecil of the Cecil Clinic in Paducah. “But…what I like most is the visible improvement that I see when patients return to my clinic after he or she has been using KIOS.”
During the first seven days of this study at the Cecil Clinic, users’
- depression declined 31 percent
- mania declined 17 percent and
- instability (anxiety, irritability and shifting emotions) declined 24 percent.
On Day 60, users showed a dramatic 46 percent decrease in depression.
During a second 12-week study of individuals challenged with bipolar disorder on probation for misdemeanors from the Bexar County Adult Detention Center (jail) in San Antonio, Texas,
- bipolar symptoms (depression, mania, anxiety, irritability and shifting emotions) declined 38 percent in 12 weeks
- 10 of 16 participants asked to continue and did continue using KIOS® after the trial ended, without any monetary incentives.
Since its inception, KIOS has incorporated human-centered design and a novel digital health technology. The first clinical trial, which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, was designed to ensure that the behavioral advice would be effective and that KIOS would be used by participants. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Institutes of Health.
During this one-year multi-site clinical study at UT Health San Antonio, the University of Louisville and the University of Cincinnati, 90.5 percent of KIOS users completed the 52-week study, unheard of in a population who are known for not taking their meds. Patients experienced a 15 percent reduction in bipolar symptoms over the first 26 weeks of the study, sustained throughout the one year trial.