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

Maidstone Hospital has treated its 100th patient with robot-assisted surgery. Following its arrival at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in September 2024, the robot has supported gynaecological cancer, general surgery and urology procedures. The system’s robotic arms mimic surgeons’ hand movements, helping them achieve greater precision. A second robot is due to be introduced at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in April 2025.

Hundreds of potential kidney donors of black African and black Caribbean heritage can now get a blood test to help reduce the risk of kidney failure. The NHS plans to carry out around 160 tests a year to identify people with high-risk variants of a gene called APOL1, which is common in these groups. The initiative is part of national genetic testing and will help identify if potential donors have a high risk of kidney disease after donation.

Telecare service Llesiant Delta Wellbeing has won the not-for-profit business of the year award at the Swansea Bay Business Awards 2025. Established in 2018, Delta Wellbeing’s emergency technology enabled care monitoring platform facilitates on average over 1.5 million calls annually and offers 24-hour support and services to more than 36,000 residents across Wales. The company recently transitioned to a new digital platform in preparation for the analogue switchover scheduled for 2027.

♥️ Graphnet Health has launched an atrial fibrillation (AF) screening tool designed to enhance stroke prevention and heart failure management. Integrated with Graphnet’s Combined Intelligence for Population Health Action (CIPHA) population health analytics and remote monitoring system, the tool enables early detection of undiagnosed and uncontrolled conditions, reducing the risk of stroke and other cardiovascular events.

Online pharmacy and telehealth provider NowPatient will integrate Infermedica‘s symptom-tracking tool into its platform as part of a new partnership. The technology allows individuals to assess their symptoms and receive guidance for next steps, such as visiting a healthcare professional or self-triaging for treatments offered by NowPatient.

Did you know?

Patient portals top the list of the most popular digital health tools used by older adults in the US, according to research published in JAMA Open Network on 15 January 2025.

In a survey of 2,110 adults aged between 50 and 80 years old, 81% said they used digital health technologies. Of these, 65% used patient portals, 49% used telehealth tools and 44% used mHealth tools (mobile apps).

The research was based on data from the internet and phone calls conducted through the National Poll on Healthy Aging in 2021.

What we’re reading

Caroline Cake, co-founder and chief executive of Neu Health, shares insights into how the digital health company hopes to transform care for people with Parkinson’s disease in the blog post, ‘Revolutionising neurological care with AI and digital innovation’, published on 20 January 2025.

Cake discusses how, over a six-week period in 2024, volunteers at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) contributed over 600 hours of home health monitoring insights to Neu Health’s smartphone-based platform. The platform tracks and translates digital measures of clinically relevant symptoms, using machine learning to predict significant clinical outcomes.

She explains that patient feedback from the trial helped refine both the platform and its educational materials, enabling clinicians to proactively identify early signs of deterioration and respond more effectively, while also empowering patients with a better understanding of their condition.

A service evaluation at LTHT, which involved more than 100 patients, reported a 19% increase in patient knowledge about their condition, with 90% of participants expressing a willingness to continue using the platform for self-management.

Cake concludes: “Over the next decade, AI-enabled apps and medical devices will play an essential role in identifying and managing long-term conditions, offering personalised care, using clinical resources more efficiently and paving the way for breakthroughs that allow longer, healthier lives.”

Upcoming events

26 February, Manchester — HETT North 2025