As 2024 draws to a close, the TRUSTING project reflects on a successful year marked by progress, collaboration, and key achievements. Here’s a look back at the project’s milestones and developments of this year.
1. Key Milestones and Project Developments
An important moment of 2024 was the TRUSTING Consortium Meeting in Leiden. This gathering that took place in June, brought together partners, researchers, and stakeholders to reflect on progress, discuss challenges, and outline strategic goals for the next phase of the project.
Throughout the year, significant progress was made by the team in Zürich and the partners in Groningen, Ireland, Czech and Turkey in preparing for the upcoming randomised clinical trial set to begin in 2025. As communicated by our Project Coordinator, Prof. Iris Sommer, the teams from Groningen and Barcelona have meanwhile been hard at work analysing speech patterns predictive of relapse or symptom change, using existing data. Additionally, efforts have focused on identifying which speech and language characteristics are associated with psychosis symptoms across different languages. This analysis will inform the design of the TRUSTING tool and support its effectiveness across diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. Simultaneously, the team in Tromsø has put a lot of effort in creating the alpha version of the TRUSTING tool and its infrastructure, while team Zurich has worked hard to prepare for ethical approval of a randomised trial to start later during the project.
Later in the year, TRUSTING released a compelling video featuring Silvia Ciampelli, PhD candidate from the University of Groningen. The video offered an in-depth look at the project’s mission to prevent psychotic relapses using AI-powered speech analysis.
Another major step forward was the introduction of the TRUSTING Users Board (TRUSB), which entails the Clinical User Board (TRUSB-C) and the Patient User Board (TRUSB-P), bringing together clinicians and patients to ensure the AI tool’s development is guided by both expert knowledge and lived experience. This collaborative approach ensures that the final product is user-friendly, effective, and responsive to real-world needs. The dual-board system exemplifies how TRUSTING’s innovation goes beyond technology, embracing co-creation as a vital component of its success.
In line with this, TRUSTING collected inputs from patients and clinicians through two user assessment surveys available in six languages, to inform the development of its AI tool. The surveys attracted response from participants in the project’s pilot countries, providing valuable insights to shape the tool’s design and functionality for early detection and timely intervention.
Another significant achievement was the publication of two important research papers from the research group of Prof. Wolfram Hinzen in Barcelona: ‘Navigating the Semantic Space: Unraveling the Structure of Meaning in Psychosis Using Different Computational Language Models’ and ‘The ‘L-factor’: Language as a Transdiagnostic Dimension in Psychopathology.’ These publications highlight the project’s contribution to the broader understanding of psychosis and language, solidifying TRUSTING’s role as a leader in mental health research and AI-driven analysis. Meanwhile, the team of Syreon in Budapest have conducted a systematic review on the economic burden of schizophrenia, publication of which is expected in early 2025.
As the year comes to an end, the first TRUSTING newsletter was released. This exciting milestone offered an engaging overview of the project’s progress, spotlighted key achievements, and previewed upcoming activities. It played a vital role in keeping stakeholders and the wider community informed and connected to the project’s ongoing journey. Subscription is posible here.
2. Participation in Key Events
TRUSTING was present at key events throughout 2024 such as the ECNP in Milan where project leaders, including Communication Lead Nigel Olisa from GAMIAN-Europe and Project Coordinator Prof. Iris Sommer, engaged with leading figures in mental health research.
TRUSTING had booth presences at other important events, including the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) congress in Budapest, the Brain Innovation Days in Brussels, and the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) congress in Mexico City. These events provided valuable opportunities to showcase the project with stakeholders from neuroscience, research, and mental health communities.
3. Looking Ahead to 2025
As TRUSTING moves into 2025, the momentum built over the past year and collaborative efforts will help drive the project further ahead. The insights gathered from the surveys will be integrated into the development of the AI monitoring tool, while the partners prepare for the start of the highly anticipated randomised controlled trial in 2025. Additionally, the continued involvement of the Clinical User Board (TRUSB-C) and Patient User Board (TRUSB-P) will ensure that both expert and lived experience perspectives remain at the heart of every decision.
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