What can new technologies offer to bipolar disorder at present?

Abstract

Over the last decade, the application of new information and communication technologies (ICT) to health has greatly increased. Because of its clinical and developmental characteristics, bipolar disorder is one of the mental illnesses for which its introduction is feasible and key aspects such as psychoeducation or therapeutical adherence can be enhanced through these techniques. The possibility of using sensors opens a new perspective as to identifying biological markers to detect early symptoms of relapse. In this paper we review previous interventions for bipolar disorder using ITC, we analyze benefits and disadvantages attached to their use and propose future research in this field, to include randomized trials for better efficacy and efficiency, together with a better definition of the target population.