Digital Health bits | September 17th 2021
Note: Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer
Fitbit starts rolling out ‘Snore & Noise Detect’ for Sense, Versa 3
With the?Charge 5 ?and “Daily Readiness Score ” announcement at the end of last month, Fitbit also confirmed?that the Sense and Versa 3 would get “Snore & Noise Detect.” That microphone-powered feature is now beginning to roll out.?
To enable, open the Fitbit app and visit the “Sleep” page. You’ll see a “Check for snoring” card, with “Learn more” telling you about “Snore & Noise Detect.” There are two metrics being recorded:
The microphone on the Sense and Versa 3 will “sample, measure and collect information about the noise in your environment” once Fitbit detects you’re asleep. This occurs “every few seconds,” with snoring by other people in the room also counting.?The company warns that this capability “impacts battery,” and it recommends your device be charged at least 40% before going to bed.
Startup testing video-based treatment for ‘lazy eye’ touts Phase 3 results
Luminopia, a startup with a digital therapeutic for amblyopia, or lazy eye, recently published the results of a phase 3 study showing its TV-based treatment can improve vision in kids’ non-dominant eye. Patients don a headset where images are altered to make them use both eyes.?
With the results of a Phase 3 study, digital health startup Luminopia hopes to get Food and Drug Administration clearance for its video-based treatment for amblyopia.
The condition, also known as “lazy eye,” is one of the leading causes of vision loss in children,?affecting up to 3% of kids . The brain starts to ignore input from one eye, leading to vision loss over time.
Most treatments available today involve corrective glasses, along with wearing an eye patch or using eye drops to blur vision in the dominant eye, forcing patients to use the affected eye. But many kids find these options uncomfortable, leading to poor adherence.
Akili releases ADHD video game therapy on Android
Digital therapeutic maker Akili announced that its video-game-like therapy for children with ADHD, dubbed EndeavorRx, will now be available on Android devices. The prescription digital therapeutic is geared towards kids 8 to 12 who are diagnosed with ADHD.
The company scored an?FDA De Novo ?for the product in 2020, making it the first game-based therapeutic with clearance. In?May, the company scooped up $110 million in Series D ?investment funding, as well as $50 million in debt funding.?
“More than ever before, kids living with ADHD are facing increased stress and ever-changing routines that make it even harder for them to stay focused,” Carl Gottlieb, SVP of Engineering at Akili Interactive, said in a statement. “It's incredibly important to us that every eligible child that can benefit from our product can access it. Our launch on Android devices is an important step toward that goal.”
World’s first digital therapy for treating erectile dysfunction has launched and raised $2.25M
It is estimated that over 150 million people globally are struggling with erectile dysfunction. As people seek treatment for this disorder, a US-based subscription-based app Regimen has gained traction. The app has just secured $2.25 million (nearly ￡1.62 million) in a seed funding round led by Ringier Digital Ventures.
Regimen ?will use the?funds ?to integrate its therapy with established healthcare models all over the world. Also, it will initiate clinical trials to further strengthen its scientific evidence base. Besides this, the app is available to the public at a subscription cost of $95 for a period of six months. The company hopes that it will be able to offer reimbursement via insurance providers in the future.
Regimen co-founder and managing director Max Kersting said: “Over the last year, we’ve been able to demonstrate the demand for, and effectiveness of, holistic therapy for erectile dysfunction, which is one of the most common intimate health issues worldwide. With this round of investment, we will be able to further personalize the program to each client’s needs through AI, strengthen our scientific leadership position and evidence base, co-create models with established healthcare organizations, and ultimately make Regimen more available to everyone who could benefit from it, all over the world.”
UK men's health startup Numan announces €33M Series B funding
London-based digital health startup Numan has raised €33 million in funding, bringing the company's funding up to €44?million, following a?Series A funding in October 2020.
The company offers a digital subscription service for healthcare treatments for users to treat men’s health issues, such as erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, hair loss, gut and lung health and nutritional deficiencies.
According to a?Eurostat survey, ?the frequency of consultations with GPs in the EU was higher for women than for men.
Numan aims to tackle the embarrassment and stigma that men can feel about talking about their health and seeking help for conditions that may be seen as a taboo.
The company will use the funding to expand its services by offering complementary existing health services in therapeutic areas that affect men.
Women's healthcare startup Tia secures $100M for company growth
Tia , a hybrid virtual care and brick-and-mortar women’s healthcare company, announced a $100 million Series B funding round Tuesday.
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Tia combines virtual and in-person care for a variety of women’s health needs, providing primary, mental and gynecological care, as well as acupuncture.?
“Women deserve their own medical home that treats them as a whole person and not a disparate set of parts. They need a model that delivers truly connected care that meets them where they’re at?–?online and offline,” cofounder and CEO Carolyn Witte said in a statement.
“Our vision is to replace transactional, condition-based healthcare with relationship-based care that can cater to women for their whole lives, from puberty to menopause. We know when we make healthcare work better for women, it works better for families, for communities?–?for everyone.”
This AI-based telehealth startup is providing a platform to enable healthcare access from anywhere, anytime
Founded in 2018, telehealth startup Docty.ai provides digital health services such as symptom checker, online doctor consultation, and electronic medical records, among others, under one platform.
Connecticut-based?Docty.ai ?was founded by?Patricia Diaz, Ramya Subramanian, Opo Herrera and Laxman Bennabattula?in 2018 to provide digital health services under one platform.
Docty?is a global telehealth startup that provides doctor search and appointment services, online consultations, medicine delivery, electronic medical records, remote monitoring, and symptom pre-screening services among others — all under a single platform.
The startup, which is now?present in India, was launched in Colombia last year, and recently expanded to South Africa as well.?
Cera hits 10 million healthcare visits during Covid pandemic
Healthcare start-up Cera has delivered more than 10 million in-person healthcare visits in the UK since the start of the Covid pandemic.
The number of visits have been focused on older and vulnerable people who’ve been hard hit by coronavirus.
The company said early on it spotted the need to support certain cohorts in their own homes throughout the pandemic and so it scaled its operation through innovative technology and adding to its nationwide team of professional carers and nurses.
Cera’s app is used by its team of healthcare workers during their healthcare visits and relies on algorithms.?The SmartCare platform ?is capable of detecting and responding to a deterioration in the condition of patients 30 times faster than traditional methods.
It’s also cutting the length of time it takes to identify and respond to specific symptoms. By monitoring patients’ vital signs and key health data in real time this can happen in just seven hours, rather than the 20 days conventional methods can take, according to the company.
Coalition formed to represent patient interests in digital health
Not enough is being done to ensure that patient voices are included in policymaking around digital health, says a new patient organisation in the UK, which aims to set that situation right.
The Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health has brought together members of patient organisations, medical colleges and health charities to tackle issues such as ensuring equitable access to digital health services.
Members include the Patients Association – which is acting as chair of the group – as well as the British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK, Parkinson’s UK, the Royal College of Pathologists and Royal College of Radiologists. It is being sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim.
There’s no question that the adoption of digital health has accelerated since the start of the pandemic, fulfilling a valuable role during lockdown, but that speed has been accompanied by a risk that patient perspectives may be lost.
The coalition says that one clear example of this was the UK government’s ill-fated General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR) initiative, which aims to have the health records of millions of NHS patients uploaded into a database that could be used for research purposes – including by third parties – and care planning.
There has been pushback against the?GPDPR , focusing in particular on the lack of public consultation on the proposals, and has been placed on hold after more than a million people opted out of the scheme in a month.
“There is a need to ensure these kinds of mistakes do not reoccur as we accelerate digital health technology,” according to the coalition, which argues that there is currently limited understanding of what patients actually want from digital health.
Note: Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer