One of the four elements that the device in Recalculating Truth is Voice Stress Analysis (VSA) or Layered Voice Stress Analysis (LVSA). There is a lot of money to be made if a technology can clearly and simply prove that someone is lying. Because of that and because of the passion that surrounds fringe sciences, there are those that take the technology very, very seriously. There are studies and institutes and technical papers. And it can move all the way into violence as positions are defended.
There is The International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law. They did an interesting story on scientists getting sued when they challenged the technical validity of one technology. There is the truly interesting National Institute for Truth Verification. Maybe there is more to this stuff than smoke and mirrors!
VSA – Voice Stress Analysis is based on the theory that stress brought on by lying causes tremors in the vocal cords thus changing the person's voice. VSA uses an instrument that measures micro-muscle tremors which are impossible to hear with the human ear. When the machine detects that a person is no longer speaking within his normal range, it is an indication the person is lying.
Layered Voice Analysis LVA uses a patented and unique technology to detect “brain activity traces” using the voice as a medium. By utilizing a wide range spectrum analysis to detect minute involuntary changes in the speech waveform itself, LVA can detect anomalies in brain activity and classify them in terms of stress, excitement, deception, and varying emotional states, accordingly.
Professionals in the field of lie detection know that there is no "true" lie detector, as lying is not a unified set of feelings that can be measured. Lying is a result of a deep logical process that is executed with a particular intention. One might lie to protect oneself from harm, while another might lie to gain profit, or even just to make a joke. Due to this variety in motivation and intention, there is no fixed set of characteristics (physiological or psychological) that differentiate lies from truth. However, LVA is capable of detecting the intention behind the lie, and by doing so can lead you to identifying and revealing the lie itself.