This might just be the only COVID-19-free healthcare email you read this week. I wanted to keep it that way, providing a veritable oasis of calm. But that does make it a smidge shorter than usual….Personally, I am very interested to see how this pandemic might change the delivery of medicine. We’re still mostly dependent on in-person visits in the US. But that’s more about how providers get paid than it is about a lack of technology alternatives I suspect.
Phone camera based vital sign measurement from Binah.ai now offered with Burnalong, a fitness app. I’m hoping this isn’t the be all and end all for Binah.ai. Most likely there’s a professional medical application lurking in here too. But working with the consumer market should give the company quick access to lots of data. And that data can be used to refine the underlying AI models to improve accuracy and accelerate product development.
US researchers working on a smart bandage to both monitor the patient and promote healing.
Somatix has an interesting approach to monitoring the elderly as unobtrusively as possible. It uses gestures and hand movements to look for signs of impending trouble. I don’t quite understand why it positions itself as an AI company and not a medtech company, but it does.
I once had a physical therapist friend tell me that women’s pelvic health was a massively under-diagnosed issue. So it’s good to see VaGenie is the winner of Boston Scientific’s Connected Health Challenge.
BioBeat gets CE mark for its wearables that measure blood pressure, cardiac output, stroke volume, oxygenation, and heart rate. This in addition to the FDA clearance granted last year for some parameters. What’s particularly noteworthy is the ability to measure blood pressure off the chest, as well as the wrist.
Lyft simultaneously finds recurring revenue and helps with the social determinants of health. This deal backs onto an existing 3 years deal. It’s great that people are being creative about solving the transportation issue for patients who need it. And presumably, in an accountable care world, providers will actually pay the $20 for the ride if they are going to save thousands in downstream healthcare costs.
A Philips survey reports that 35% of young doctors are overwhelmed by patient data, or aren’t sure how to use analytics. Sounds like we need to re-think physician education.
Researchers find that 3D printing could lead to a better type of silicone wearable.
Some are excited that the federal government has published interoperability rules that *might* allow patients better access to their data. Others are concerned that said rule is a hefty 1,244 pages long.
OK, so I didn’t quite live up to my promise, but it’s a great story that points to the future: Italian hospital 3D prints values it needed for the ICU.