Doctor Mary Czerwinski was having a blazing row with her boyfriend when something really strange happened.
Beep beep! He got a text message warning him that Mary might be stressed and how about giving her a call to check she's okay?
It was a eureka! moment in Dr Czerwinski's professional fight against depression.
"We both just burst out laughing and of course the fight was over immediately - I can't even remember what it was about now," Dr Czerwinski told AAP.
The US-based cognitive psychologist, who arrives in Australia to speak about her work next month, was wearing a wrist-mounted mood sensor which triggered in the heat of her fight.
Designed by Dr Czerwinski and her colleagues at Microsoft's VIBE research laboratory, the system measures minute changes in heart, heat and sweat rates and then alerts users (or boyfriends, girlfriends, mums dads etc..) if there's a sudden change.
The technology has a range of potential uses, from medical to marketing (imagine advertising executives' glee at being able to gauge a consumer's mood!).
But Microsoft is most excited about its use as an early warning system for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, panic attacks or depression - the latter of which is said to affect about one million adult Australians each year.
The sensors, which can also sit around a users' chest, are said to be able to pick up changes in mood well before traditional symptoms of depression or stress may be felt.
Once those symptoms have been detected, the system sends a message to the users' mobile phone, or a phone of a designated third party, urging them to take action.
That can range from simple deep-breathing exercises to jumping online and interacting with friends or a simple welfare check telephone call.
In Microsoft's recent trials, people who received targeted messages from the sensor technology reported significant improvements in mood.
A control group sent messages of anti-stress advice at random points in the day reported little change.
"We had significantly less depression reported and we had significantly better coping mechanisms," Dr Czerwinski added.
"So we do have evidence that we can do some good.
"And these findings were just among the general population - this isn't even with a population that has significant or clinical issues.
"If you have a population that really needs technology like this, I'm feeling quite motivated that they will use it and benefit from it greatly."
Dr Czerwinski said she envisages Microsoft making the technology available for free for medical purposes, though it remains at the trial stage still.
She is due to speak more about her findings at the University of Sydney on February 11.
Australian experts are also using technology to try and aid depression sufferers, including a project by the Black Dog Institute, which is analysing Twitter and other online content to try and detect early warning signs of suicide or depression.
Another group of scientists, from the University of Bonn, Germany, are researching the progress and severity of mental illness and depression by measuring smartphone use.
The scientists behind the research believe, depending on personality type, that people who spend a lot of time interacting with friends via their phone may indicate cheerfulness and good moods.
While a sudden drop-off in usage could indicate the presence of depression.
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