Digital Health Coffee Time Briefing ☕

Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”.

???? News 

???? A recently published article on JAMA has brought attention to the need for nationwide assurance laboratories that objectively evaluate the use of AI in healthcare. The authors examined past research on trustworthy AI, which found more than 200 recommendations for reporting performance of models or describing characteristics of the source data via “model cards” and “data cards”. The plan for a potential nationwide assurance network, according to the authors, was broken down into areas of a shared resource for development and validation, comprehensive evaluation of AI models, transparent reporting, promoting regulatory guidance, and ongoing monitoring. 

???? AI systems show high potential for detecting mucosal healing in ulcerative colitis with optimal diagnostic performance, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis. AI algorithms replicated expert opinion with high sensitivity and specificity when evaluating images and videos. At the same time, moderate-high heterogeneity of the data was found, the authors noted. The study was published online in Digestive and Liver Disease. 

???? Infections caused by drug-resistant strains of the bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii have been hard to treat in the clinic. A new class of antibiotics has been identified with the potential to tackle these microbes. 

???? A recent study published in JAMA Network Open investigated the accuracy and reliability of nutrition information provided by two versions of Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) chatbots. Their findings indicate that while chatbots cannot take the place of nutritionists, they can improve communication between health professionals and patients if they are refined and strengthened further. 

???? Sanius Health has announced a deal valued at £225 million which will see its data, research and personalised health patient AI platform leveraged by primary care provider Modality Partnership through a 10-year collaboration. The deal will see Modality Partnership utilising Sanius Health’s AI and clinical services, offering “enhanced coaching and clinical support”, with the potential to benefit over 500,000 patients across the UK. The platform is described as an AI-powered digital data bank and patient ecosystem, combining medical records, wearable tech, DNA kits, quality-of-life data and socioeconomic information to support care, outcomes and research. 

❓ Did you know that? 

More people than ever before are getting tested for cancer with almost three million checks over the last 12 months, new analysis published this week by the NHS has shown. 

Almost three million people (2,980,258) were seen for urgent cancer checks over the last year (Nov 2022 to Oct 2023) – the highest year on record. Up by 147,960 on the same period last year, and up over a quarter (622,562) on the same period before the pandemic (2,357,696). 

The new analysis also shows there has been a 133% increase in the number of people getting checked for cancer over the last decade – with 1,275,231 urgent cancer referrals between Nov 2012 to Oct 2013. 

???? What we’re reading

From lab to life: how wearable devices can improve health equity – Medical wearables, non-invasive devices that measure physiological biomarkers, are potentially disruptive and powerful tools to promote health equity at scale. Here the authors describe their experiences designing, validating, and deploying wearable sensors in vulnerable patient populations to improve health outcomes. 

???? This week’s events 

4-5 January, London – International Conference on Medical and Health Sciences