A new app developed by the San Francisco-based Ginger.io Inc. has been successfully shown to help healthcare providers detect symptoms of postpartum depression, an underdiagnosed condition affecting women after they give birth.

The app’s developer tracked its use in 200 women  and found that behavioral patterns and symptoms tied to depression — like decreased mobility on weekends and longer phone calls — could flag poor mood, the Wall Street Journal reports.  
 

The Ginger.io app is one of a new generation of health technologies that doctors, hospitals and health insurers are starting to use. Like fitness trackers such as FitBit, which record jogging distance and calories burned, newer apps and other tools measure text-messaging, vocal tone, and other factors to monitor a users’ psychological well-being.
 

The Ginger.io app is being used by 30 medical centers, including Kaiser Permanente and the University of California-San Francisco, the company says.Many other technologies are being developed with the aim of treating mental-health conditions, as well as diabetes and heart disease. For example:

Many health experts are cautious about using the technologies without hard evidence that they work. Some are also concerned about privacy, including data security and whether patients will be alarmed by what could be perceived as intrusive snooping.