#158 - A virtual smorgas-ward 🛏️
#158 - A virtual smorgas-ward 🛏️
The one-minute healthtech roundup
Hi friends,
This week: Funding wins, digital twins, and debating the value of wearable things.
News Bites 🥪
🎮 Gamified mental health platform Thymia raises £2m – Having recently been humiliated in a Mario Kart tournament, Pigeon welcomes the novel concept of a video game diagnosing depression, not just exacerbating it.
☁️ Doccla acquires OTH in bid to become Europe’s leading virtual hospital – In case you hadn’t noticed, virtual wards continue to dominate headlines - and when it does Doccla is never far away either. Tune in to the podcast to get the skinny from founder Martin Ratz on the company’s latest shrewd move and why virtual care is here to stay.
📝 Digital transformation of mental health services - Where mental health is concerned, we spend a lot of time on the ‘can we?’, and less on the ‘should we?’ – but worry no longer, as a new paper published in Nature (so you know it’s good) says the answer to both is ‘Yes, and here’s how….’
🔦 Digital Health Spotlight: Entia looks to improve cancer care at home – Pigeon’s not going to sugar coat it – there’s room for improvement in how we treat cancer patients in-and-out of hospital. That’s where apps like Entia come into the equation. Fresh off a massive raise, the company’s CEO speaks to Digital Health about their plans.
🤖 Epic taps Microsoft to accelerate generative AI-powered 'copilot' tools to help clinicians save time – Epic. AI. LLMs. EHRs. Copilots. Workforce burnout. This article is a veritable smorgasbord of healthtech buzzwords, with a casual reference to McKinsey for good measure. Pigeon hopes our reader who enjoys this sort of thing is happy. [You mean me, don’t you? If you mean me, just say so. - Ed.]
🚨 The NHS plan for virtual wards to beat winter crisis – In this week’s second VW story NICE has approved the use of virtual ward tech for respiratory conditions – and while Pigeon has requested a clarification of the exact date the NHS is planning to transition from its summer crisis to its winter crisis* – the NHS has a lot riding on the technology ... even as concerns are raised in some (fairly high profile) corners.
⚡️ Human OS: Why digital twin tech is coming for our bodies – What do your grandparents and olympic athletes have in common? They’re both the most likely early beneficiaries of digital twin technologies, when - and if - they find traction in healthcare. If the phrase ‘digital twin’ made you think you were going to be quietly replaced by a robot, this article will at the very least dispel you of that notion.
⌚️ There’s a disconnect between health tech and the people it’s supposed to help - Wearing an Apple Watch? Maybe you’re sporting a fitbit or a garmin? A Withings perhaps? (ooh, get you…). All of those fancy health features could save lives, but the people who could benefit most probably aren’t wearing one…The Verge examines the implications of tech literacy and affordability challenges when it comes to the benefits of wearables in healthcare.
💻 Black and Brown Skin launches chrome extension to show users health-related images from various skin tones on any health website globally - Ever found yourself adding "on black skin" or "on brown skin" when searching for health-related images? Black and Brown Skin have, and with a new browser extension, they’re helping to close a gap in the availability of high quality health information. Founder Malone Mukwende joins the Pigeon podcast to tell us more
What to listen to 🔊
🐦 Healthtech Pigeon - A virtual smorgasward - Join Jessica, James, Huw and Malone Mukwende as they take a deep dive into the week’s healthtech news and views. The eagle-eared will have no trouble spotting the guest appearance from Doccla founder Martin Ratz.
🔊 The Healthtech Podcast #317 Snapchat's surprising role in revolutionising brain health, with Dr. Hamzah Selim, CEO of MindStep - James is joined by Hamzah Selim, Co-Founder & CEO of Mindstep. Mindstep is creating a new care standard for cognitive health by providing AI-driven neurodiagnostics, screening for relevant risk factors, and comprehensive interventions.
📈 High Potential Start-Ups with Ochre Bio’s Jack O’Meara - Cavenagh Health’s Nick Ross has kicked off season two of the High Potential Start-ups podcast in flying form with Ochre Bio CEO and Forbes 30 under 30 class of 2023 Jack O’Meara. If you’re keeping your finger on the pulse of techbio, you’ll want to listen in to this fly/pigeon-on-the-wall conversation.
Events 📅
Health Features Launch Event - Youtube Health
🕣 September 7, 2.00-10.00pm
📍 YouTube UK HQ, 6 Pancras Square London
SomX Healthtech Talks: The promise of AI in Biotech - SomX & Google Cloud
🕣 11 September
📍6 Pancras Square London
CogX Festival
🕣 12-14 September
📍The O2, London
WEBINAR - Bridging the gap: How can pharma and NHS collaboration unlock successful patient engagement?
🕣 18 September
📍Online
MedFIT - Fostering Innovation in Medtech
🕣 October 10, 8.30am-6.15pm
📍 Strasbourg Convention Centre, France
MedTech World Summit
🕣 19-20 October
📍 Valletta, Malta
Use the code ‘FlyingtoMedTechMalta’ for 25% off your ticket.
Opportunities 🕵️♀️
👤 Head of Stakeholder Relations, Professional Records Standards Body - One day, no matter which healthcare setting you enter, care records will be high quality, interoperable, and basically useful to both patient and provider. as a stakeholder relations specialist at the PRSB, you could help that day be sooner.
📺 Programme Manager, Medtech and Digital Healthcare Innovations, SBRI Healthcare - This role helping to fund medtech and healthtech innovations is still open - better get in there soon if you want it.
📈 Growth Specialist, Numan - Mens health provider Numan is looking to help someone supercharge their growth. If you’ve got what it takes, why not get involved.
*The autumn crisis has been cancelled due to a shortage of staff.
Got news, jobs or events you think is worth coo-ing over? Let us know! Email us: news@healthtechpigeon.com
At SomX, we are clinicians, scientists, creatives and communicators dedicated to elevating healthtech and biotech. For our clients, we provide communications strategy, multimedia content marketing, public relations, events and branding/design services. Get in touch to find out how we can support your healthtech company.