VOCALS for Science!
Donate your Vocal Biomarkers to help detect COVID-19
Vocal biomarkers have an amazing potential in reforming diagnostics through their accuracy, speed and cost-effectiveness. We’re studying the correlation between respiratory diseases and vocal biomarkers like voice, breathing and coughing noises in Germany & Europe.
DONATE YOUR VOCAL BIOMARKERS FOR SCIENCE
How it works
With are developing Artificial Intelligence methods and technique to correlate the voice with the symptoms of the COVID-19. The study is being conducted under scientific standards and with highest German Data Protection standards.
Join us now and help to fight COVID-19 by donating your voice for the science.
About the Research Project
Efficacy of COVID-19 detection with vocal biomarkers
In order to find out whether a AI-supported symptom-related recognition of respiratory diseases using vocal biomarkers for COVID is effective, we are conducting a study from April to July 2020. We collect about 500,000 audio samples in different stages from about 50.000 test people and patients, enrich the audio samples with further self-detectable digital biomarkers and compare them with COVID-19 test results to find out whether especially vocal biomarkers correlate with the actual test results.
The Online Test is a simple self-test that enables our algorithms to recognize patterns from a large scale of voice samples, that are further refined under laboratory conditions within trials.
The Mission and its Impact
The global challenge of COVID-19
Due to its characteristics, the COVID 19 pandemic places the health care systems, the economy and the individual freedom rights around the world under a stress test that is unprecedented in our globalised and highly technological world. In view of the effects of containment measures, a considerably improved data basis is needed to provide information on the spread and the lifecycle of the disease in the population in real-time.
The Impact
The project has the potential to revolutionize COVID-19 diagnostics through its accuracy, speed and cost efficiency. Should the research hypothesis prove to be true, this would represent a breakthrough in the field of prediction and location-independent early diagnostics worldwide. Our sophisticated pattern recognition algorithm learns to use vocal biomarkers to calculate probabilities of COVID-19 infection and enable health authorities and hospitals worldwide to identify COVID-19 symptoms quickly and cost-effectively, regardless of location and enable a broad part of the world’s population to access testing and improve the accuracy of COVID-19 treatments by AI-based localization of the patient in the individual and pandemic lifecycle of COVID-19 disease.
Supported and awarded by: The “Solution Enabler” Program of the Federal Government of Germany and part of the XPRIZE Global Alliance of Pandemic Innovators.


How you can support and join our mission to transform COVID-19 detection
Donate your Vocal Biomarkers
It takes 2 minutes to run through the short test: 100% safe and data protected, pseudonym & with encrypted transmission. Your name is not required.
Spread the word and share the website
Help us recruit more test persons and patients into the COVID-19 study by sharing and tweeting.
Join our research project
You want to be part of our trial? Whether as a health authority, clinic or research institution – get in touch!
FAQs
Why should I contribute to the research and donate my vocal biomarkers? What is the societal impact?
What is the problem that COVID-19 detection with Vocal Biomarkers is about to solve?
How far is research on the use of vocal biomarkers for early detection of respiratory diseases?
The detection of respiratory diseases using vocal biomarkers is gaining momentum now we as scientists are just beginning to understand how we can use vocal biomarkers and artificial intelligence to hear beyond the human ear. But one thing is already clear: the approach is highly disruptive and might have an incredible impact on health care and pandemic prevention around the world and especially in countries with underdeveloped health systems.
The presented approach uses the most modern, widespread and publicly accepted everyday technologies for the early detection of viral diseases.
How can I donate my Vocal Biomarkers?
- Fill out our quick COVID-19 Symptom Check (30 seconds)
- Take the Vocal Biomarker Test
- Click Submit.
Done. 🙂
How is my health data handled?
We will anonymize the data and just use it with the intention to conduct research and translate this work to patients. You can find all details clearly and understandably in our data protection declaration. If you have any questions, please contact our team.
How much time is required?
If you are interested in participating in a longer clinical trial, you can indicate this in your data donation. Depending on your previous illnesses and symptoms, we then will invite you to join our clinical study. We have structured the trial as a 4 week longitudinal study and we estimated it will take roughly 15-20 minutes of your time contributing for the COVID-19 research from home with nothing more than your smartphone.
What is the current status of the study?
In order to find out whether AI-supported symptom-related early detection is promising, we plan to record approx. 500,000 audio samples from approx. 50,000 corona patients and correlate them to secured COVID-19 testing in a study from April to July 2020 using a self-test app based on smartphones.
The study is conducted under scientific standards in cooperation with medical universities and research institutions* and can roughly be divided into three parts:
1) Labelling of a large number of vocal biomarkers from symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects via this website (non-clinical part),
2) Testing and analysis of the correlation of vocal biomarkers to classical diagnostic test procedures in the context of a retrospective review of the course of disease under clinical conditions (clinical part),
3) Conducting a registry study to examine in detail the results that vocal and digital biomarkers provided us with.
Should this be the case, commercially available smartphones would be able to predict probabilities for corona virus disease, to direct biomarker-based well-founded suspected cases to the best possible location and to better locate patients in the life cycle of the disease.
*If you are working in a clinical institute and can imagine a research cooperation, please contact us.
How can the "VOBI" algorithm be used to detect COVID-19?
The development and study are conducted under strong scientific, data protection and ethical standards in cooperation with medical universities and research institutions.
*If you are working in a clinical institute and can imagine a research cooperation, please contact us.
How can I partner with the project?
For Individuals – You can donate your voice – it just takes 2 minutes to contribute to our research. And: Please spread the word and share the website.
For Nonprofits and Academic Facilities – If you are interested in a research cooperation with us, please let us know – we are always looking for research facilities for joint work. Furthermore you can forward the link to your mailing list and help us recruit participants.
For Corporation/ Companies – If you are a company looking to help us in our effort to provide solution to COVID-19, please reach out to us by filling out the contact form at the bottom of this web page.
For Private Donors or Foundations – If you’re interested to financially support our work or contribute in other ways, please reach out to us. We are also currently looking to test the approach in collaboration with research institutions in countries and regions with underdeveloped healthcare systems.
If you’re interested in any of these areas or have other ways to work together, just reach out to us on the contact form at the bottom of this page and we’ll get back to you.
The Team

Philip Mertes
Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Hendrik Kleinwächter
Chief technical Officer (CTO)

Prof. Dr. med. Gerd-Dieter Burchard
Medical Advisory Board Member and infectious diseases and tropical medicine

Dirk Simon
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Dr. Wolfgang-Paul Tigges
Chief Medical Officer (CMO)

PD Dr. Dr. Jan Dirk Raguse
Medical Advisory Board Member and oral & maxillofacial surgeon
We deeply believe, that the innovation location Germany is thanks (and despite) its high standards in health and data security predestined to become a pioneer in the most important fields of innovation in healthcare. Our goal is to unite a large number of people from business, science, politics and administration who want to actively enable and shape the future and be part of the solution.
Get In Touch
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VocalsForScience
Donate your Vocal Biomarkers to help detect COVID-19
© 202xHealth Labs
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