Mobile health and apps news in brief

This month’s mobile apps round-up features news the Smoke Free Plus app is now available to buy through Boots retailers, meanwhile Healthy.io has launched a digital wound scanning app that allows clinicians to better train chronic wounds.

Smoke Free Plus app now available at Boots stores

The Smoke Free Plus app is now available to buy for the first time in over 1,400 Boots stores across the UK and on boots.com.

Originally developed as a part time project by Dr David Crane while studying for his MSc in psychology and struggling to quit smoking, Smoke Free has now had more than four million downloads.

The app was supported by the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme.

Dr Crane said: “Stopping smoking is hard. I know, I’ve failed at it often enough. What really makes the difference is support, most people need help to stay quit.

“The problem is that until now it’s been hard to get this help to people. Which is why our announcement today is so exciting, because our partnership with Boots makes stop smoking support more accessible than it has ever been before.”

Sara Nelson, programme director of DigitalHealth.London Accelerator Programme, said: “Digital technology has huge potential to help people take greater control of their own health.

“The Smoke Free app has been proven to work and empower people to stop smoking. Having supported Smoke Free since they were on the programme, we are delighted to see the company grow and today have the potential to make a national impact on the millions of people who want to give up smoking this New Year.”

Healthy.io launches new digital wound scanning app

A new digital wound management solution has been launched by Healthy.io.

Used by nurses and doctors to measure and document chronic wounds digitally using a smartphone camera, the app aims to tackle the UK’s chronic wound problem.

Chronic wounds – those that don’t heal after three months – affect 2.2 million adults every year in the UK. Improving wound care is a national priority for the NHS, which created the National Wound Care Strategy Programme in 2019.

Nurses do not have the tools they need to objectively measure and document wounds over time. They often rely on a basic paper ruler to capture and document the size of a patient’s wound and make a decision based on size, colour and smell to gauge whether skin tissue is healing.

Clinicians often struggle to share and track results over time.

Healthy.io uses computer vision technology to turn a smartphone into products that simplify existing clinical pathways. Using a smartphone app and two ‘calibration stickers’ placed around a wound to track dimensions, clinical staff can now scan the wound and get a measurement quickly and effectively.

Rather than simply taking an image, Healthy.io’s technology builds a 3D image enabling more comprehensive documentation. Clinicians can also add wound characteristics, pain levels and other vital information into the app.

Yonatan Adiri, founder and chief executive of Healthy.io, said: “By streamlining documentation and providing measurements of the wound over time, this solution can promote evidence-based care decisions.

“This solution will also empower overburdened nurses to objectively and consistently monitor their patients more efficiently over the course of treatment.

“We are proud to see that the trust we have built with a number of NHS organisations in recent years with our urine test technology is now helping us to scale and serve more patients, again using a smartphone camera, to empower medical professionals on the frontline of wound management.”

500,000 patients connected to their GP through Evergreen Life health app

Nearly 750,000 have registered for the Evergreen Life health and wellness app, with 500,000 of them connected to their GP through the digital platform.

Patients can share health records with whoever they want, book GP appointments, monitor their wellbeing, and be more easily assessed and treated for current and developing health conditions through the app.

The app books appointments, orders and delivers repeat prescriptions, sends messages to patients’ GPs and also downloads medical records and test results for patients to own and share as they need.

It also allows users to take a DNA test designed to assess and advise on the lifestyle and diet that suits their genetic makeup.

Stephen Critchlow, founder and former NHS pharmacist, said: “Booking online can take seconds, whilst waiting for the receptionist to answer can waste days and is much less accessible.

“What could take days for a hospital or doctor to assemble patient data from several treatment centres or departments – with a risk of information being missed – takes seconds because it is all held in one location on the app.

“The UK is generally stuck in a rut of chasing and deploying cures when it could be focusing on keeping people well and avoiding sickness – the app saves time and money and enhances the efficiency of the patient-NHS relationship.”

Spoon Guru launches smart food recommendation platform for retailers

UK start-up Spoon Guru has launched a new recommendation platform for retailers that uses machine learning to help consumers discover foods that meet their dietary requirements.

Described as an “AI-powered, Netflix-style curation for food”, Spoon Guru’s Health and Wellness Suite helps consumers find foods and recipes by analysing their purchasing behaviour and preferences.

The platform allows customers to discover healthier alternatives, based on factors such as dietary concerns and food allergies, and offers targeted recommendations based on “deep analysis” of shopper’s baskets.

The Health and Wellness Suite will span applications from predictive modelling to trend analysis, enabling retailers to gather into shoppers’ consumption habits and purchasing habits.

Markus Stripf, co-founder and co-CEO of Spoon Guru, said: “Each module works in tandem to ensure shoppers experience the highest level of personalisation when shopping online or in stores. Similar to Netflix, we will enable personalised, health focused experiences that learn and optimise customer needs overtime.

“This ensures product and recipe discovery is highly relevant for their health, lifestyle, medical or taste needs.

Spoon Guru was incorporated into AXA Healthcare’s corporate employee programme in 2018.