At Las Vegas show, tech world turns to mental health tools

Whether detecting rising anxiety or managing a full-blown panic attack, the tech industry is offering an array of new tools designed to support mental health.

Scores of start-ups will pitch their solutions at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas including Swiss firm Nutrix, which is introducing cortiSense to measure levels of the so called stress hormone cortisol.

A small cylindrical object with a thin strip at one end, cortiSense allows users to test and analyse their saliva directly — without having to spit into a tube and send it to a laboratory, according to Nutrix. Results can be consulted in minutes via a mobile app.

Up to now, Nutrix founder Maria Hahn said, to test your cortisol "you need to go to the hospital, or you need to send your samples."

If users' levels prove to be too high, Nutrix says it can put them in touch with health professionals to help craft an appropriate response.

Hahn said cortiSense could be a useful complement to other Nutrix monitors, like gSense, which compiles data on sleep, weight, physical activity and glucose levels.

"It's about empowering the user," she said.