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 new tool developed by Social Care Wales is allowing every social care provider in Wales to gain a more complete picture of their organisation’s current digital skills and capabilities. The digital potential tool is free to use. It will show organisations their digital strengths as well as areas for improvement, and signpost to useful resources to support ongoing digital development. In addition, it will provide a snapshot of the national situation. The tool has been designed for social care workers, IT staff and leadership teams.

Version 1 has been awarded a three-year national contract to support the Health Service Executive (HSE) in delivering digitally enabled healthcare services across Ireland. Version 1 will collaborate with HSE Technology and Transformation to implement digital solutions, aligning with HSE’s digital transformation journey, as set out in the Irish government’s Digital for Care 2030 initiative.

A new spin-out company from the University of Nottingham is drawing on its know-how in optical fibre sensing to support the commercialisation of a range of smart technologies that can measure a range of medical signals. Formed in December, Medical Photonics‘ innovations will enable precise diagnostics and physiological monitoring. The founders, Professors Stever Morgan, Barrie Hayes-Gill and Serhiy Korposh, and doctors Ricardo Correia and Brett Gadsby all hail from the university’s Faculty of Engineering, and will work alongside external chairperson David Whelan and clinician doctor Andrew Norris.

Applied Monitoring has secured £500,000 from the North East Venture Fund to help bring its new healthcare and fitness monitor to market. The company has developed a non-invasive method to continuously monitor lactate levels in blood, so athletes can plan their training regime. Applied Monitoring has already undertaken successful trials at Durham University and signed a contract with a microchip producer for a solution that can be embedded in an armband and synced with a smartwatch. The product will launch in the next 12 months.

Tech company Lifebit is partnering with the Lung Cancer Genetics Study. The collaboration will see Lifebit’s platform used to launch a secure data analytics and information exchange system to support the study. The Lung Cancer Genetics Study was launched in July 2024, with the aim of creating a comprehensive, open-source database of heritable genetics and patient-reported data in lung cancer. The Lifebit platform will securely store and manage de-identified health and biomedical data from consenting study participants.

Did you know

New research commissioned by Insulet, makers of the Omnipod, has revealed that 84% of people living with type 1 diabetes crave more freedom, with over half (52%) agreeing the conditions stops them from being spontaneous.

The research was carried out in October 2024 by OnePoll and sought the opinions of 250 adult type 1 diabetic patients in the UK.

Planning for social events was named as the biggest barrier to spontaneity for responders, with 52% regularly turning down social plans due to the unpredictability of managing their diabetes, and 50% saying they would be keen to feel more at ease in making last-minute plans.

The survey respondents estimated that an average of nearly a third of their daily choices are impacted by their condition, including the type of holidays they plan (32%) and the clothes they wear (18%).

What we’re reading

An independent paper from the UK’s Robotics Growth Partnership was published 11 February, outlining a roadmap to position the UK as a global leader in robotics. Smart Machines Strategy 2035 highlights the transformative potential of robotics and smart machines to address pressing societal challenges, as well as demonstrates their ability to enhance economic productivity.

The report notes that the UK lags behind global leaders in industrial robotics adoption, which it says is “in part due to perceived risks, regulatory hurdles, and conservative business practices”. According to the report, if fully adopted, smart machines could increase UK Gross Value Added (GVA) across sectors from £6.4 billion to £150 billion by 2035.

 Upcoming events

21-22 February, Edinburgh – Digital Health and Care Scotland 2024