MUHS, Nihilent join hands to explore emotion AI in Indian healthcare

The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), Nashik, has partnered with IT firm Nihilent to introduce emotional Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Indian healthcare. This collaboration will see the university use Nihilent’s Emoscape platform, which is designed to detect human emotions through AI.

Emotion AI is a branch of artificial intelligence focused on measuring, understanding, simulating, and responding to human emotions.

MUHS oversees over 600 institutions across medicine, dentistry, Ayurveda and allied health disciplines in India. It is now looking to integrate emotional well-being into medical education and patient care by applying Emoscape in clinical settings.

The Emoscape platform uses artificial intelligence to detect nine emotions – love, joy, compassion, anger, courage, fear, disgust, wonder, and calmness – by analysing subtle upper-body movements in 3D. Its design is influenced by the traditional Indian theory of Navarasa, a centuries-old concept from Indian performing arts that categorises emotions into nine types.

Lt Gen (Dr) Madhuri Kanitkar, Vice Chancellor of MUHS, said the partnership brings a new dimension to healthcare. “You cannot separate the mind from the body. Healthcare must be holistic. This is not just research – it’s a revolution,” she said, underlining the importance of combining ancient knowledge with new technologies.

The platform will be applied in areas such as mental health, non-communicable diseases, adolescent and maternal care, pre-surgical counselling and psychiatry. The aim is to provide more personalised care by better understanding patients' emotional states.

The partnership will also give MUHS students hands-on experience with emotional AI through internships at Nihilent. This move is intended to help future healthcare professionals embrace the role of technology in improving patient care.

Sandeep Pendurkar, Business Director at Nihilent, said Emoscape bridges technology, clinical science, and cultural heritage. “By detecting and understanding emotions, we can provide more personalised and effective care,” he noted.

The agreement was formalised during a signing event attended by senior officials from both MUHS and Nihilent.

This initiative marks an important step in the wider adoption of emotional diagnostics in healthcare and places India at the forefront of research into emotion-based AI applications.