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 partnership between two UK healthcare innovators – BetterYou and Medichecks – is aiming to boost wellbeing by equipping consumers with insights into their individual nutritional requirements, alongside offering pill-free supplements scientifically formulated for maximum absorption. Since inception, BetterYou has partnered with some of the finest research institutions and companies in the world and when it came to choosing a test provider, Medichecks was the obvious choice. It not only offers a complete Diagnostics-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform that makes it simple for companies like BetterYou to offer white-labelled testing services, but also has a legacy spanning over two decades, established relationships with UKAS-accredited laboratories, an impressive inventory of finger prick and venous health checks, and access to nationwide phlebotomy clinics. The partnership represents a strong synergy around the potential for personalised healthcare, and not only for consumers. Elite athletes have also benefited from the collaboration. 

???? The Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership is supporting a new campaign to encourage people over the age of 40 to get a free blood pressure check at their local pharmacy. High blood pressure, or hypertension, rarely has noticeable symptoms. But if untreated, it increases the risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes and even serious kidney disease. In Humber and North Yorkshire an estimated 145,000 people are thought to have undiagnosed hypertension. A new national campaign to encourage people to get their blood pressure checked – called ‘no clues’ – launched on 11 March. There are almost 300 pharmacies in Humber and North Yorkshire offering free blood pressure checks to people aged 40 and over. During the check, a pharmacist, or member of the pharmacy team, will wrap a blood pressure cuff around your upper arm to measure your blood pressure. They will then share the result with you. 

???? Kingston Hospital’s surgical team welcomed its first state of the art surgical robot on Friday 22 March, purchased thanks to the generosity of local resident and philanthropist Dame Marit Mohn, who funded the robotic system via Kingston Hospital Charity. Made up of three parts, the da Vinci Xi robot comprises: the patient cart (robot) which houses the camera and four instrument arms that the surgeon uses to perform surgery; the surgeon console which the surgeon sits at to control the instruments, while viewing the patient’s anatomy on a highly magnified high-definition (HD) 3D screen; and the vision cart or hub which includes a large HD screen that shows a live feed of the surgical procedure to those in theatre. The surgical robot will initially be used for urology, colorectal and gynaecology surgery, with the potential to expand into other surgical specialities in the future. 

???? Teva UK Limited and Closed Loop Medicine Ltd have announced a strategic partnership to advance the development of personalised medicine. Under the agreement, Closed Loop Medicine – a leading TechBio company – and pharmaceutical company, Teva UK, will investigate opportunities to use Closed Loop Medicine’s proprietary software as a medical device (SaMD) technology platform which aims to advance the development of personalised medicines, improve drug efficacy and outcomes in patients with specific chronic disorders by combining dose-optimised drug therapy with digital care. This strategic partnership harnesses Closed Loop Medicine’s proprietary SaMD and combines it with Teva’s pharmaceutical products creating the opportunity for digital companions to be prescribed alongside traditional therapeutics, enabling real-world data integration and improved effectiveness of innovative and known medicines. 

???? On Saturday for World Bipolar Day, EDIT-B, an EIT Health supported consortium, will launch in France a revolutionary blood test that can differentiate bipolar disorder from depression. The EIT Health supported consortium, led by ALCEDIAG, is now working to ensure the solution reaches more countries in Europe and beyond to help healthcare professionals improve the diagnostic outcomes for millions of people living with bipolar disorder. The launch includes a short film, produced by EIT Health in collaboration with the EDIT-B consortium, to shed light on this innovative solution. Featuring two women diagnosed with bipolar disorder, the film underscores how an earlier detection of the condition could have been lifechanging. Their story is part of EIT Health’s Spotlight series, which unveils some of their most powerful healthcare innovations. 

❓ Did you know that? 

A quarter of women working in UK offices have been shamed or pressured to return to work early when taking time off for health issues, new research by the women’s health startup frendo has found. Over a quarter (28%) of women say their company culture is not open when it comes to discussing health conditions, and 27% say their employer is not very willing to make allowances for health issues. One in seven women (14%) say they have experienced discrimination in the workplace due to their health, such as being overlooked for promotions or excluded from team activities. 

???? What we’re reading 

Femtech Insider – The Future of Femtech: A Deep Dive into Women’s Health and Pharma’s Expanding Role 

???? This week’s events 

27 March, online – Next steps for obesity policy, prevention and care in England