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

💰 Paris-based biotech company DeepLife has raised $10 million (£7.9m) in Series A funding to develop its AI-powered “digital twin” technology, which simulates how drugs interact with human cells. DeepLife’s platform is designed to tackle the challenges of developing therapies for diseases previously considered untreatable by modeling cellular behavior at a molecular level and predicting drug responses. The funding was led by VC firms YZR Capital and Relyens Innovation Santé.

♥️ An international study has highlighted the benefits of screening for heart failure and providing specialised care for people with pacemakers. The research, carried out by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Leeds, found that ultrasound screening commonly identifies heart muscle weakness in people with pacemakers, which is best treated in specialised heart failure services. Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the independent study is one of the largest of its kind in the world and demonstrates the effectiveness of a comprehensive strategy for screening and management.

🤖 The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has performed its first robotic-assisted surgery using the “cutting-edge” CMR Surgical Versius Robotic System. Robot-assisted surgery enables surgical teams to perform minimally invasive procedures with greater precision, improving patient outcomes and reducing recovery times. This means shorter hospital stays and a faster return to everyday life for patients. The £1m robotic system was funded by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust (QEHKL) Charity.

🏆 Polish mental health start-up MoodMon has been crowned winner of Bupa‘s 2024 eco-Disruptive programme, an initiative focused on healthcare sustainability and accessibility. MoodMon’s AI-powered app monitors voice, activity and mental health indicators to detect mood changes early, helping doctors adjust treatment for patients with depression and bipolar disorder. The start-up, chosen from over 1,000 global competitors, will receive £200,000 to further develop its product and gain mentoring and investment opportunities to support its scaling.

🛌 The UK government has announced a £100m boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care, and £26m revenue to support children and young people’s hospices. Funding will help to deliver improvements including refurbishments and overhauling IT systems to make it easier for GPs and hospitals to share vital data on patients.

❓Did you know?

Flu cases are up 350% compared to winter 2023, with an average of 1,099 patients in hospital every day – the highest pre-winter level in three years, according to figures published by NHS England on 5 December 2024.  Norovirus cases have also surged by 86%, alongside rising COVID-19 and RSV admissions.

The NHS is urging eligible people to get vaccinated for flu, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus as winter pressures build.

📖 What we’re reading

Information governance and data protection professional, Andrew Harvey’s paper, ‘Medical Privacy: Aligning the Need to Breach Patient Confidentiality with Data Protection in the Public Interest’, published in the Journal of Data Protection & Privacy, explores the ethical and legal complexities of breaching patient confidentiality in public health scenarios.

Harvey sets out a framework focusing on situations where sharing confidential patient data becomes necessary to protect broader public health, such as containing infectious disease outbreaks or enabling critical medical research. In these scenarios, he explains how to evaluate the public health benefit of disclosure against the patient’s right to privacy. 

Central to this the importance of evaluating each disclosure carefully, ensuring data use remains proportionate to its intended purpose. Harvey also explores the potential for anonymising patient information to reduce privacy risks and underscores the need for compliance with legal frameworks, such as the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.

🚨 Upcoming events

30 January, virtual event – NHS Digital Transformation 2025