Last Month in Digital Health (March)
Virtual Reality (VR)
VR has been in the news for a variety of healthcare use cases >
- UK Mental Health trust introduces virtual reality for phobia treatment, to tackle everything from fear of needles, heights, flying and spiders to agoraphobia and claustrophobia. Patients are gradually exposed to situations they would usually avoid in a virtual environment, helping them manage their reactions in a safe and controlled environment
- Another UK NHS trust is offering 'virtual rehab' for lung patients . COPD patients are provided training and a kit consisting of a VR headset, wearable sensor and mobile data hotspot so they can partake in rehab exercises from the comfort of their own home
- Virtual reality may help relieve pain during childbirth - a small study suggests
- And a study showed physiotherapy can be done at home effectively using virtual reality. Patients were able to accurately track an avatar to ensure they were doing the exercises properly
Digital Cardiology
- FDA authorizes marketing of first Cardiac Ultrasound Software that uses Artificial Intelligence to guide user, instructs non-expert medical staff on how best to produce high-quality diagnostic images in real time
- Digital heart model, linking computer and statistical models could help predict future heart health
- And see below for the Apple Watch & J&J partnership
Pharma Tech Partnerships
- Sanofi announces three-month Babylon pilot to assist people with digestive health issues
- Voluntis announce new partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb that aims to support cancer patients with a new digital-therapeutic platform
- Apple and Johnson & Johnson team up on new study to see if Apple Watch can reduce risk of stroke
- Verily has partnered with ophthalmology-focused Santen Pharmaceuticals to establish a joint venture to develop and commercialize new digital tools to improve eye health
- Almirall has announced a partnership with Plug and Play, a health tech accelerator and innovation platform, to boost innovation in dermatology
Funding News
Headspace raises $93M in equity and debt as it pursues clinical validation for mindfulness
Hinge Health raises $90M, developer of back and joint pain care pathways that combine wearable sensor-guided exercise therapy with behavioral changes
K Health raises $48M Series C For AI-Powered Primary Care application
Women's digital health startup Maven, specializing in fertility, maternity, return-to-work and pediatric care grabs $45M in Series C round
Q Bio scores $40M in series B, eyes opening additional centers, enhancing digital health platform
Middle East healthcare platform Vezeeta raises $40M Series D led by Gulf Capital
Intuition Robotics musters $36M Series B for its assorted AI companions
Benefits assistant HealthJoy raises $30M - company uses a combination of a chatbot and concierge service
Musculoskeletal health startup Sparta Science rakes in $16M
AxialHealthcare raises $15M to help prevent and treat opioid addiction
Opioid treatment platform Boulder rakes in $10.5M in Series A funding
London-based startup Unmind, focusing on mental health in the work place, scores $10M in Series A funding
Ribbon Health raises $10.25M with the aim of integrating the healthcare data stream
Digital physical therapy company Sword Health raises additional $9M