Mobile health and apps news in brief

Our latest mobile health and apps round-up features news that healthcare start-up Qured as launched a crowd-funding campaign to help it expand and reach more people, while new research has suggested that demand for mental health apps has increased by more than 500%.

Healthcare app opens public crowdfunding campaign

Qured has announced a crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube.

The healthcare start-up is launching the campaign in order to help grow the business and reach more people.

Qured provides doctors and physiotherapists to your home, hotel or workplace,

Originally launched in Clapham, London, the service now covers Greater London and has achieved over 30,000 downloads, 6,000 registered patients and 450 registered doctors.

New technology helps improve treatment for patients with depression, study suggests

A new web-based “feedback technology” that allows therapists to accurately monitor how patients with depression are coping reduces the probability of deterioration during psychological treatment by 74%, a new study has suggested.

The study involved data from more than 2,000 mental health patients treated across multiple NHS Trusts in England.

Known as “Outcome Feedback”, the algorithm was developed by an international team of researchers from UK, German and Dutch Universities, in partnership with PCMIS.

The technology uses patient feedback to more quickly identify patients at risk of deterioration by tracking their symptoms and monitoring their response to treatment.

Lead author of the study, Dr Jaime Delgadillo, said: “There are many complex reasons why some patients get worse during treatment, including difficult life circumstances and sometimes unresolved difficulties in their relationship with their therapist.

“Patients who don’t respond well to therapy usually drop out of treatment after only a few sessions. The outcome feedback technology we developed accurately identifies problems early on and allows therapists to be more in tune with their patients’ difficulties and obstacles to improvement.”

Research says demand for mental health apps on the up and up

Demand for mental health apps has increased by 566% and demand for online GP and prescription services has doubled since 2014, new research by GK Strategy and onefourzero has suggested.

The research analysed Google search data and over 34,000 social media posts over a 4 year period.

Desire for convenience is the single biggest factor driving demand for online GP services, and is mentioned in nearly a quarter (24%) of online conversations on the topic.

Fleur Hicks, chief executive at onefourzero, said: “Our analysis highlights that patients have so far bought into technology as a method for delivering healthcare.

“In a sector as sensitive as health, building and sustaining this trust amongst users is vital. For companies that successfully do so, the market evidently exists.”

Robo-squat

A new fitness app which uses AI-powered motion tracking technology to help with squats has been launched.

Free to download, the Perfect Squat Challenge app has been developed by digital therapy company Kaia Health in conjunction with physiotherapists and sport scientists to define a squat that a wide population can achieve.

Once the app is opened, users are greeted by Kaia, a virtual personal trainer, who guides them through the exercises.

Users place their phone upright on a table or against a wall then step back until their body becomes visible on the phone’s screen.

The app then tracks 16 key points on the body using the phone’s camera stream.

During the exercise Kaia offers real-time feedback and video-based instructions.