If You Could Hear Illness...

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Invisible diseases are some of the most misunderstood and marginalized conditions in healthcare today. Affecting an estimated 60

% of adults—with women comprising the majority—these diseases include chronic pain, depression, anxiety, autoimmune disorders, dementia, and other episodic conditions such as lupus and endometriosis. Unlike many visible illnesses, invisible diseases lack consistent biomarkers that can be detected through conventional imaging until symptoms have already progressed significantly. By that point, patients are often left with symptom management options instead of meaningful, disease-modifying treatments.

The societal implications are profound. Individuals with invisible illnesses face skepticism, dismissal, and isolation from clinicians, workplaces, and even loved ones. Caregivers and families shoulder emotional and logistical burdens while receiving little recognition or support. The result is a system that too often fails the people it was built to serve. This failure stems not from a lack of compassion or effort, but from a lack of tools to recognize and respond to these diseases before their impact becomes irreversible.

The call to action is clear: we must reimagine how we diagnose, communicate, and understand invisible disease. We must humanize the diagnostic process and integrate empathy into innovation. That means developing early intervention tools that go beyond traditional imaging, engaging new forms of data representation, and fostering collaboration between science, medicine, the arts, and technology. It means creating inclusive, interdisciplinary solutions that are both scientifically sound and emotionally resonant.

Hearing the Invisible: A Transdisciplinary Response

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Hearing the Invisible (HTI) is a bold response to this call. Developed by faculty at the University of Arizona, HTI is a transdisciplinary initiative that integrates biomedical science, data systems, artificial intelligence, and the arts to build novel, immersive diagnostic experiences. HTI is not simply a research project or a performance; it is a prototype for how the arts and sciences can merge to drive innovation, build empathy, and advance health equity.

At its core, HTI reimagines the diagnostic process through sound. The program transforms EEG data—brainwave activity recorded from individuals with invisible illnesses—into immersive sonic and visual installations. By translating neurological activity into musical compositions and auditory environments, HTI offers a groundbreaking way to hear what is otherwise unseen. In its initial proof-of-concept, attendees of the HTI installation listened to the real-time auditory differences between healthy brains and those affected by Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. It was, to our knowledge, the first time EEG data had been presented in such a public, artistic, and affective format.

This immersive model is scientifically rigorous while deeply human. The installations are designed in collaboration with biomedical researchers, composers, and visual artists. Students in neuroscience, engineering, music, public health, and the arts participate through vertically integrated projects that bridge their fields of study. The result is a shared creative space that supports the development of early diagnostic tools while also producing public art that engages audiences emotionally and intellectually.

But HTI is more than a sonic experiment. It is a movement toward human-centered science. The immersive installations invite participants to step into the cognitive and emotional experiences of those living with invisible illnesses. This empathetic framing not only raises awareness but also validates the lived experiences of patients and caregivers. Simultaneously, HTI explores how AI, machine learning, and open-source data (such as from OpenNeuro, HEAL, and All of Us) can be leveraged to develop new diagnostic methodologies rooted in non-visual analysis of brain activity.

From a pedagogical standpoint, HTI is equally ambitious. The initiative is developing transdisciplinary curricula that encourage students to apply classroom learning in real-world, collaborative contexts. Through internships, research showcases, and performances, students are trained to think beyond disciplinary silos and explore the essential value of the arts in medical and scientific innovation. The goal is to cultivate a generation of empathetic professionals capable of both rigorous analysis and compassionate care.

Current Status and Next Steps

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HTI has already demonstrated proof-of-concept through its first immersive installation and associated musical composition, developed in partnership with the UA

 School of Music. The inaugural exhibit was accompanied by a powerful student-composed score derived from EEG datasets, and was presented alongside visual components that mapped neurological data into 3D environments. Public engagement was robust, and feedback from audiences, students, and researchers alike affirmed HTI's potential to catalyze meaningful change in both perception and practice.

Building on this momentum, the next phase of HTI is expansive. A multi-stage plan is in place for scaling the project into a national model for art-science collaboration and invisible disease advocacy:

1. Website and Digital Infrastructure: A central website is currently in development to house documentation, installation content, press coverage, and educational materials. The site will also host interactive virtual experiences to increase accessibility.
2. Expanded Installations: HTI will design and tour next-generation installations at other academic institutions, museums, and public spaces. Each year, the content will shift to highlight a different invisible disease, with future themes focusing on mental health, autoimmune disorders, and chronic pain.
3. Course Development and Student Integration: A vertically integrated course (VIP) is in progress, aimed at embedding HTI projects within the university curriculum. This will allow undergraduate and graduate students to co-create new installations, conduct research, and receive academic credit.
4. AI Integration and Diagnostic Tool Development: HTI will pilot AI systems for filtering and interpreting EEG data, with the long-term aim of developing clinically relevant theragnostic tools. Collaborations with Banner Health and the UA Center for Innovation in Brain Sciences are already underway to support this effort.
5. Outreach and Dissemination: Partnerships with Tech Launch Arizona, Anecoica Global Creative Research, Monsoon Staging and Design, and Kroenke Entertainment are being cultivated to increase HTI’s footprint and pursue external grant funding through the NEA, NIH, and private foundations.
6. Patient-Powered Data Registries: HTI plans to create patient-sourced databanks to supplement existing open-source EEG repositories. These registries will center lived experiences and enhance research on underrepresented conditions.
7. Documentary Production: A long-form documentary is in production to chronicle the project’s evolution, featuring interviews with faculty, students, clinicians, artists, and community members involved in the process.

Ultimately, Hearing the Invisible seeks to become a replicable best-practice model for integrating the arts into biomedical research, education, and public engagement. It aims to demonstrate that storytelling through sound can be just as informative as imaging, and far more emotionally resonant. HTI challenges us to reconsider what data looks like, sounds like, and feels like—and to design systems that treat patients not just as data points, but as whole human beings.

Invisible doesn’t have to mean unseen. With HTI, we invite you to listen.