David Atkins, PhD, and his team at the Behavioral Research in Technology and Engineering (BRiTE) Center received funding from CoMotion for their software that gives automated feedback to therapists delivering motivational interviewing. Called CORE-MI, the product uses speech transcription and machine learning to evaluate effectiveness of therapy sessions. The grant brings them one step closer toward commercializing the technology. Atkins and his team will use CORE-MI to help clinicians at Evergreen Treatment Services, a publically-funded opiate addiction treatment center, improve their training and effectiveness in their methadone clinic.

Atkins is also part of a large team that recently received a PCORI Methodology grant for a similar behavioral health technology innovation. The technology being developed will use algorithms to analyze conversations in primary care office visits and determine new ways of improving the quality of patient-doctor interactions.