Consensus-Based Definitions for Vocal Biomarkers: The International VOCAL Initiative.
Abstract
Introduction: Voice-based health technologies are growing rapidly, but they lack standardized terminology, which hinders interdisciplinary collaboration, research quality, and clinical translation. The objective of this work was to develop universally accepted definitions in the rapidly evolving field of vocal biomarkers, as part of the VOCAL (Vocal Biomarker Guidelines for Ontology, Classification, Application, and Logistics) initiative, a structured, international consensus-based framework that aims to provide standards and guidelines. Methods: VOCAL is a rigorous, international, multistage consensus-building study conducted in 2024-2025. It is a multi-institutional collaboration between representatives from the Bridge2AI-Voice Consortium (North America) and the eVoiceNet Network (European Union), involving a group of 24 international experts in medicine, clinical research, speech and language, audio signal processing, statistics, methodology, regulation, and ethics. VOCAL's iterative process involved 5 rounds of review and feedback and an in-person workshop at the 2025 Bridge2AI Voice Symposium. Results: Consensus-based definitions for vocal biomarkers were developed, spanning from broad concepts to domain-specific measures. A hierarchical continuum model of vocal biomarkers was established. We first distinguished between the concepts of vocal measures and vocal biomarkers. We then defined terms from broad, overarching concepts (level 0: biomarker, digital biomarker, vocal biomarker) to more specific physiological and cognitive domains (level 1: cardio-respiratory acoustic; level 2: voice; level 3: speech/articulatory; level 4: cognitive/language, including linguistic and paralinguistic subtypes). Conclusion: This work provides a shared vocabulary that is essential for fostering communication through interdisciplinary collaboration, improving the quality and efficiency of research and development, and ensuring the ethical, reliable, and scalable deployment of future voice-based health technologies. It lays foundational groundwork for upcoming guidelines and standards, which are crucial for advancing the field of vocal biomarkers into widespread clinical utility.
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Authors: Mégane Pizzimenti, Ayush Kalia, Jamie Toghranegar, Mohamed Ebraheem, Nicholas Cummins, Satrajit S Ghosh, James Anibal, Rhoda Au, Arian Azarang, Ruth Huntley Bahr, Sybille Barvaux, Steven Bedrick, Hugo Botha, Oita C Coleman, Abir Elbéji, Lampros Kourtis, Anaïs Rameau, Jaskanwal Deep Singh Sara, Stephanie Watts, Daria Hemmerling, Jiri Mekyska, Marisha L Speights, Jean-Christophe Bélisle-Pipon, Yaël Bensoussan, Guy Fagherazzi
Institutions: Northwestern University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Oxford, University of South Florida, Oregon Health & Science University, Cornell University, Boston University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, AGH University of Krakow, Brno University of Technology, Mayo Clinic in Arizona, King's College London, Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Simon Fraser University, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Open Society, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Central European Institute of Technology, Framingham Heart Study, Central European Institute of Technology – Masaryk University, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, Abbott Northwestern Hospital