Researchers have shown that measurements taken from a person’s fingertip could help identify physical patterns associated with stress, anxiety and depression.
The international study, involving experts from Aston University, used a wearable device that shines light into the skin to measure blood flow through the smallest blood vessels as well as changes in the activity of the surrounding tissue.
These measurements were then combined with machine learning to investigate whether people reporting symptoms of stress, anxiety or depression displayed recognisable physical patterns.
The study involved 132 adults aged between 18 and 94 from across 19 countries. Participants completed a widely used 21-question assessment covering depression, anxiety and stress before undergoing repeated fingertip measurements.
The device examined how blood was flowing through the tiny vessels beneath the skin. It also measured substances associated with how cells produce and use energy, as well as skin temperature and heart rate.
Stress and anxiety can affect the nervous system, heart rate, circulation and metabolism, and scientists wanted to establish whether these effects could be detected through changes in the fingertip.
Machine-learning models were then used to compare the physical measurements with participants’ questionnaire results.
The models were able to distinguish, with moderate success, between people who reported stress-related symptoms and those who did not. Blood-flow patterns and measurements associated with tissue metabolism made an important contribution to the results.
Professor Edik Rafailov, from the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies, jointly supervised the research and said the study provided early evidence that mental distress may be accompanied by measurable changes in the body.
He said:
“This study suggests that non-invasive photonic wearable technology can detect changes in blood flow and tissue activity through the skin that may provide useful information about a person’s stress-related symptoms.
“At present, mental health is generally assessed through conversations and questionnaires. These remain extremely important, but in the future physiological measurements could provide an additional source of information and help people monitor changes over time.
“This is an early proof-of-concept study, rather than a diagnostic test. We now need to test the approach with larger groups of participants and in clinical settings before we can determine how it might be used in practice.”
The technology does not currently diagnose depression, anxiety or any other mental health condition. Participants were classified using their answers to a questionnaire rather than diagnoses made by mental health professionals.
The researchers say the eventual aim would be to complement, rather than replace, existing mental health assessments.
The system could potentially help people and healthcare professionals monitor changes in wellbeing without requiring invasive medical tests. However, larger studies and independent clinical validation will be needed to establish its reliability across different populations and everyday environments.
The research also produced a dataset containing physiological measurements from a relatively diverse group of participants. This could help other researchers investigate the relationship between mental health, circulation and cellular activity.
The study, “A wearable device dataset for mental health assessment using laser Doppler flowmetry and fluorescence spectroscopy sensors”, has been published in the journal Communications Medicine.
The research involved Aston University, the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, the University of Toronto, University Health Network in Toronto, Florida Institute of Technology, Pukyong National University, Stanford University, Hai Duong Central College of Pharmacy and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The work received support from the British Council Women in STEM Fellowships programme.
To read the full paper, visit https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-026-01766-5
Communications Medicine