Digital phenotyping as a new method of screening for mental disorders

   The introduction of information technologies is inextricably linked with improving the quality and accessibility of medical care, as well as reducing the cost of medical services. Digital phenotyping is one of the clinical tools in the field of information technology that allows you to evaluate a person’s phenotype using various personal information devices, such as a smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, various sensors and other computer tools. The advantage of digital phenotyping is the ability to receive information about the patient’s condition in real time, without inpatient and outpatient monitoring and even without the active participation of the patient himself. This fact significantly expands the possibilities of screening and diagnosis of mental disorders, and also helps to track the risks of relapses and take timely measures to prevent an exacerbation of the disease. Information technologies have great prospects for use for scientific purposes — they provide an opportunity to conduct research online that does not require visiting research centers, while at the same time reducing the time and costs of ongoing clinical trials. However, the use of digital phenotyping for scientific and clinical purposes has a number of limitations. For further improvement of digital phenotyping in order to screen psychopathology and subsequent assessment of the condition of patients, it is necessary to develop new psychometric tools used in electronic form and devoid of the shortcomings of questionnaires that are currently being used. This critical review provides data on the current opportunities and problems of digital phenotyping, as well as the prospects for its development.