Hongdao Meng, MD, MPH, PhD, associate professor in the School of Aging Studies, has been selected to receive $25,000 from The Corridor Early-Stage Innovation Fund to support his latest research titled, "Computer vision-based human affect assessment system for precision music intervention delivery: A proof-of-concept study." In partnership with Florida High Tech Corridor and USF Research & Innovation, the fund supports early-stage innovations and applied research by USF faculty that have commercial potential and lead to industry investment, startup creation, or licensing opportunities.
The goal of Meng's study is to improve access to precision music intervention in healthcare settings and enhance the well-being of patients and caregivers. Music has been shown to have a powerful effect on improving mood, reducing anxiety and depression, and even alleviating pain. However, despite its therapeutic potential, recorded music has not been widely used in the healthcare system.
Meng is collaborating with multiple faculty members from the USF College of Engineering: Yu Sun, PhD; Dmitry Goldgof, PhD; Shaun Canavan, PhD; and Mingyang Li, PhD. The team will address the lack of a cost-effective solution to adjust music selection and playback based on human affect feedback.
The team of researchers are combining two USF-developed technologies to create a new product that can assess the listener’s responses to music in real-time and then use momentary human affect to tailor music automatically.