Your robot update for Tuesday

February 17, 2015 | by

Catching up on our robot friends (?), we have a potpourri of developments which concentrate on either improving health or advancing robotic capabilities:

The ASSAM (Assistants for Safe Mobility) project is not about tea, but assisting older adults with everyday mobility and facilitating autonomy centering on physical mobility assistance for declining walking capabilities, but encouraging physical exercise; cognitive assistance for declining visual and mental capabilities by obstacle recognition and avoidance, and orientation and navigational aid. ASSAM upgrades existing DME (durable medical equipment) via sensor and computing hardware/software packages. It is coordinated by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), and receives funding from the EU’s Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme and the national ministries of Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. ASSAM website, YouTube video  Hat tip to the German Center for Research and Innovation

A robot scientist may make ‘orphan drugs’ an obsolete term. Eve, a robot scientist (more…)

A primer on why startups fail

February 13, 2015 | by

What makes for a successful startup? Or the converse–what are the Elements of Doom for all those Better Mousetraps? Since many of our Readers have Been There, Done That or Considering That, this blog posting by David Skok of VC Matrix Partners (with only minor holdings in healthcare) could be illuminating. Five factors are detailed succinctly and in plain English: market problems (timing, value proposition), business model failure, poor management, running out of cash and product problems. The calculation of CAC (Cost of Acquiring Customer)/ LTV  (Lifetime Value of Customer) with a multiple of CAC:LTV at 1:3-5+ essential. To this Editor, these Elements also apply to later stages. For Entrepreneurs, “Why Startups Fail.” Hat tip to MedCityNews via Twitter.

TripleTree iAwards: applications open

February 13, 2015 | by

Applications are now open through 13 March for the seventh annual TripleTree iAwards, which recognize the most innovative companies in connected health. Finalist CEOs present at the 10th annual Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA) Convergence Summit 26-28 May in beautiful (and warm) San Diego. Previous finalists are a chronicle of the changing connected health scene: marquee names still with us (Qualcomm Life, AliveCor, GreatCall, Proteus)–and those vanished from the scene (Healthrageous, WellAWARE, Diversinet, Zeo). Information and application.

Integrating spiritual care into healthcare: conference (US)

February 12, 2015 | by

2015 Caring for the Human Spirit, 20-22 April, Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando Florida

The Health Care Chaplaincy Network (HCCN), which we’ve recently profiled in ‘Chaplain Care for Veterans’, has been integrating online and tele-consultative (email, phone and video chat) resources into spiritual and mental health care in chaplaincy service. This year’s conference highlights include a workshop on TeleChaplaincy: The Online Practice of Professional Chaplaincy. Featured speakers are primarily from the US, but include The Rev. John Swinton, University of Aberdeen, King’s College School of Divinity. Conference registration is also available for a real-time webcast of all sessions and workshops. Brochure  Previously: Patient engagement meets ‘palliative care’ in a care plan pilot with VOX Telehealth [Disclosure: Editor Donna is a volunteer on the HCCN’s marketing advisory council.]

Hackermania running wild, 2015 edition

February 11, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Hackermania.jpg” thumb_width=”300″ /]

Do we need the Hulkster Running Wild against Hacking? It’s so heartwarming to see the mainstream press catch up to what your Editors have been whinging on for the past few years: that healthcare data is the Emperor With No Clothes. Here we have Reuters and the New York Times with a case of the vapors, seeking a fainting couch. Reuters dubs 2015 ‘The year of the healthcare hack’. The FBI is investigating the AnthemHealth breach, while their counterparts UnitedHealth, Cigna and Aetna are in full, breathless damage control mode. The Times at least delves into the possibility that it was at least partially instigated by China and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) unit that trolls for intellectual property.

Our Readers, savvy to your Editors’ warnings since at least 2010, were aware that the drumbeat accelerated this past summer. (more…)

Data breach fail at AnthemHealth: an inadvertent ‘inside job’ (updated)

February 11, 2015 | by

US health insurance giant AnthemHealth, which had a data breach of reportedly up to 80 million beneficiaries [TTA 6 Feb], was an inadvertent ‘inside job’. The Associated Press reported that the credentials of at least five employees were used to access information, at least one of whom was an administrator who viewed his credentials being used to query the data warehouse. It’s easier than you think to get them. In an analysis published by security firm Tripwire and also in MIT Technology Review, the writer Ken Westin outlines how easy it is to find that the Anthem warehouse is TeraData, and to match up employees engaged with it, through using public employee profiles on places like LinkedIn and job postings. Then it’s deductive to find exact email addresses (find the pattern–lead generation companies building business contact lists do this all the time) and send these key employees phishing emails  (more…)

FDA final guidance on mHealth eases regulation of MDDS, mHealth (updated)

February 10, 2015 | by | 1 Comment

As anticipated, FDA issued final non-binding recommendations for guidance yesterday (Monday) that ease regulatory oversight of medical device data systems (MDDS), including image storage and communication devices, and mHealth devices.

In the MDDS guidance document, “(FDA) does not intend to enforce compliance with the regulatory controls that apply to MDDS, medical image storage devices, and medical image communications devices, due to the low risk they pose to patients and the importance they play in advancing digital health.” It defined MDDS as “a device that is intended to provide one or more of the following uses, without controlling or altering the functions or parameters of any connected medical devices: (i) The electronic transfer of medical device data; (ii) The electronic storage of medical device data; (iii) The electronic conversion of medical device data from one format to another format in accordance with a preset specification; or (iv) The electronic display of medical device data.” along with their hardware and software. It specifically excludes devices that are used in active patient monitoring.

Mobile health apps were covered in a separate and highly detailed guidance document, “Mobile Medical Applications”.

  • FDA will regulate only “those mobile apps that are medical devices and whose functionality could pose a risk to a patient’s safety if the mobile app were to not function as intended.” (more…)

Economist study on mHealth: improving outcomes, but revenue model?

February 10, 2015 | by

The Economist‘s just published survey of 144 healthcare executives in 23 countries, taken in June 2014, is a combination of cheering and dismaying.

The good:

  • Most executives surveyed (64 percent) believe that new mobile technologies and services that provide greater patient access to medical information “could dramatically improve health outcomes”.
  • 63 percent project that “greater patient access to their personal data will allow people to make better decisions about their health”.

Holding things back are factors as diverse as:

  • Risk aversion within the healthcare industry (institutional bias and conservatism
    within the healthcare establishment) cited by 44 percent
  • Patient privacy concerns (49 percent)
  • Patients finding technology hard to use (54 percent)

These executives are also not strong on wearables; they do not believe that it will alter healthcare in any noticeable way (21 percent). And still there is the consideration about how to make money in mobile health: 10% of respondents (and 19% of those in the US) believe mobile health has no promising revenue model.  PDF  Hat tip to Ashley Gold of POLITICO’s Morning eHealth on Monday.

Chronic Illness Bingo, or the silly things we say to those with…

February 8, 2015 | by | 2 Comments

From our occasional Canadian contributor and genuine Heart Sister Carolyn Thomas is a handy (and funny) Bingo card with squares describing many of the ‘helpful’ things one may say to those with chronic illness, especially the invisible sort. As our readers are engaged with services and/or technologies which help others to manage chronic illness, or have lived through our own or those close to us, perhaps we are more sensitive…but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t educate, or be aware of the occasional silly remark we still make. Also read the linked article, ‘But you don’t look sick…” Let’s all play Chronic Illness Bingo!

1 in 5 UK care homes fail key national quality standards: BBC

February 8, 2015 | by

The BBC Radio 5’s ‘5 live Investigates’ broadcast today (Sunday) their report on failing care homes. Starting with third-party research from the firm LaingBuisson, which found in examining 10,000 care homes that 20 percent failed to meet one or more ‘key quality measure(s)’, the 5 live team further examined 50 sample homes which failed inspection and found in their reports:

Some homes were found to be placing residents in danger because of insufficient or poorly trained staff.

There were cases where the wrong drugs had been given out. Other homes were dirty, unhygienic or smelt of urine.

In one establishment, dementia patients were being washed in cold water, and staff had not had criminal record checks and worked up to 60 hours a week.

The program was broadcast on BBC Radio 5 live Sunday, 8 February at 11:00 GMT. BBC News page. Unfortunately there is no indication of a podcast or rebroadcast. Hat tip to Guy Dewsbury via Twitter.

Blueprint Health’s latest class tackles nosocomial infections, transitional care

February 8, 2015 | by

The New York-based Blueprint Health accelerator announced this week its Winter 2015 class of seven: GlucoIQ, GroupHub, HealthyBytes, Limestone Labs, Moving Analytics, Signifikance and TapGenes. Most have a genetic analytics or payer emphasis. Of special interest to our readers are:

  • The home-based cardiac rehabilitation system of Moving Analytics, which uses a smartphone app, Movn, to guide patients through their care plan, joined with active patient management engaging them with nurses who call weekly to review progress.
  • Toronto-based Limestone Labs‘ UV-C sanitization system for portable devices (the ubiquitous tablets and smartphones) which aren’t being cleaned effectively with wipes, and are becoming a new vector for hospital-based infections. They claim 99.99 percent kill rates with treatment of only 30 seconds. It started piloting last month in healthcare settings.
  • Healthy Bytes’ food management app, engaging patients with dieticians to monitor food intake with photos, time and other comments plus coaching.

The public demo day for this class will be 24 April. Blueprint Health is now taking applications for their summer class to be launched on 13 July. MedCityNews

Lūbax skin cancer detection app in clinical trials

February 7, 2015 | by

What is that spot? A question that many of us have worried over. A skin cancer detection app developed by Los Angeles-based Lūbax is being tested with physicians and dermatologists in the US, Australia and the UK as of 4 February, World Cancer Day. It uses image recognition software and algorithms to search a proprietary dermatology image database of over 12,000 diagnosed lesions. Their initial large melanoma clinical trials with Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and the University of São Paulo showed sensitivity and specificity in detecting large melanomas in patients. According to their website, they are expanding the database and algorithm to include basal and squamous cell carcinomas in addition to amelanotic melanomas. There’s a signup for the clinical trial only for iPhone, but their execs in a news item have met with Samsung. BioSpectrum Asia, release on Biospace.com, startup profile on Gust.com

News highlights for Friday

February 6, 2015 | by

AnthemHealth didn’t encrypt, Blueprint Health collects, HealthSpot funds again, Sense4Baby goes to Europe, Apple Health pilots in hospitals and buddi gets bigger still.

Another hack attack claimed major US health insurer AnthemHealth, the former WellPoint. It’s estimated that 80 million of its customers, former customers and employees had data breached: names, addresses, dates of birth, emails, employment information, income, medical IDs and SSIs. The Wall Street Journal reports that Anthem didn’t encrypt data for analytics reasons. It’s unconfirmed where the hackers originated but Bloomberg’s latest report tags the usual Chinese state-sponsored suspects. Unusually, it was reported within days of discovery; Anthem has called in Mandiant (FireEye) to beef up its cybersecurity. Other reports: WSJ, Modern Healthcare….The Blueprint Health accelerator has a new initiative, the Collective. It is designed to pair up major healthcare providers and payers with startups and early stage companies. So far signed up are Aetna, AstraZeneca, HP, Montefiore, North Shore LIJ, New York-Presbyterian, Samsung, EmblemHealth, Philips and Razorfish Healthware. More information here….The HealthSpot Station telehealth/telemedicine kiosk is readying a $11.6 million funding round from four investors soon, based on (more…)

‘Chaplain Care for Veterans’ launches (US)

February 6, 2015 | by | 2 Comments

The HealthCare Chaplaincy Network yesterday debuted Chaplain Care for Veterans and Chat with a Chaplain. Both are online and consultative (email, phone and video chat) resources which provide professional spiritual and emotional support to veterans and current service members, as well as their families and friends. They are additional extensions of HCCN’s mission of training chaplains and providing spiritual support for the seriously ill as well as their families. While they are similar to their Chaplains on Hand and Chat with a Chaplain civilian services, the veterans’ version is oriented to service-related issues. (more…)

Smartphone lab attachment detects HIV, syphilis

February 4, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/85986-1024×546.jpg” thumb_width=”200″ /]Starting in 2010, your Editors have been writing about the work of UCLA’s Aydogan Ozcan and associates in miniaturizing microscopes (LUCAS) and labs that clip directly on smartphones. Examples: assaying food for allergy-inducing ingredients with the iTube [TTA 13 Dec 12] and accessories that run ‘analysis on a chip’ [21 Jan 13]. Columbia University researchers have now devised and tested a palm-sized device using microfluidics to run initial tests on HIV and syphilis with results in 15 minutes. It was tested on pregnant women in Rwanda, according to a study published this week in the journal Science Translational Medicine. (more…)

mHealth guide to the 2015 Mobile World Congress

February 4, 2015 | by | 1 Comment
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Mobile-World-Congress-20151.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]For our readers attending the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) extravaganza 2-5 March, there’s plenty on health tech to be found, but the MWC organizers on their website don’t make it easy. Filling the gap smartly is David Doherty on mHealth Insight with his annual mHealth guide to the 2015 Mobile World Congress–both presentations and exhibitors. Personal logistics is important as the 70,000 delegates jam Barcelona and the 2nd Health & Wellness @ Mobile World Congress organized by the European Connected Health Alliance (ECHAlliance) is held at two venues. Save it on your mobile and let it be your guide.