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 

???? UK specialist care provider We Care Group has reinforced its reputation for providing high quality, person-centered care with the adoption of digital pain assessment technology PainChek across its care home estate in the North and Northwest of England. PainChek is the world’s first regulatory-cleared medical device for the assessment of pain. A PainChek assessment considers six domains: the face, voice, movement, behaviour, activity, and body. The device uses AI and the camera of a tablet or smartphone to assess the face domain, whilst the carer observes the resident to assess the other five domains. This enables care professionals to identify the presence of pain in a resident when pain isn’t obvious, quantify the severity, and monitor the impact of treatment to optimise and evidence overall quality of care. 

???? Researchers in Germany have begun testing the potential of CAR-T therapy — a cutting-edge cancer treatment in which a patient’s immune T cells are genetically modified in a lab to better attack disease targets — to help those with autoimmune disorders. Their latest findings, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, provide evidence that has led experts to consider, tentatively, using the c-word, STAT reports. 

???? Nuffield Health is upskilling its staff through enrolment on data fellowships to enhance its skills and capabilities and deliver better outcomes for patients and beneficiaries across its services. The programmes will cover a range of skills including analytics, AI, and predictive modelling. Training will be delivered by Multiverse, a tech company that has trained more than 10,000 learners in digital skills. Staff will enrol on one of two Multiverse programmes; the 13-month Data Literacy apprenticeship introduces apprentices to the use of data and covers the core technical skills required to transform data into insights, as well as softer skills like building narratives and presenting findings. The 15-month programme Data Fellowship covers more advanced data analytics and modelling, giving learners the skills to clean, analyse and model data; the ability to visualise and tell data stories to non-specialists; and the confidence to lead conversations around machine learning. 

???? ENPICOM, a bioinformatics software solutions provider, has announced a collaboration with Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, a distinguished leader in cancer research. The aim of this partnership is to identify and develop nanobodies against cancer by utilizing ENPICOM’s immune repertoire data analysis services and software solutions.

???? King Saud University (KSU) has achieved a new global milestone by entering the Guinness World Record for the largest dental hospital in the world, with a total area of 37,165 square meters. This achievement confirms the university’s commitment to providing healthcare services, supporting medical education, training programs, and scientific research, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. 

❓ Did you know that 

According to the Astute Analytica, the global remote healthcare market is projected to grow from US$ 10.2 billion in 2023 to US$ 59.7 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.7% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2032.

 ???? What we’re reading 

On the 1st of February 2024, representatives of thirty organisations and individuals working in Adult Social Care met at the University of Oxford, Reuben College, to discuss the benefits and risks of using ‘generative AI’ in social care. This was the first of a series of ‘AI in adult social care’ roundtable events to take place as part of a co-production initiative for people in adult social care. The first roundtable culminated in the ‘Oxford statement on generative AI in adult social care’. 

???? This week’s events 

23 February, Westminster Health Forum – Next steps for cancer treatment, prevention and diagnosis in England