This week, we attended the
Wired Health conference in London. As always, the event was jam-packed with
innovators jostling for position in the race toward a brighter, healthier
future.
Share on PinterestThis
year's Wired Health conference was as informative and insightful as ever.
Wired Health is held yearly in London, United Kingdom. It
boasts a wide array of speakers from every corner of the health tech world,
alongside forward-thinking companies who provide a glimpse of their latest
offerings.
This year was as varied as
ever, and the talks covered how technology could intervene in issues as diverse
as HIV, bereavement in
children, and cardiovascular surgery.
I spent the majority of my
time at the EY WIRED Health Access Stage, which featured an annual showcase of
start-up companies.
For me, the over-arching
theme this year was one of consolidation. I saw less focus on newfangled
technology and more emphasis on the use of recent innovations in more efficient
ways.
Rather than designing
solutions from the bottom up, it seems to be more about capitalizing on
hard-won inventions of the recent past.
We have the data — now what?
Early on in the
proceedings, Pamela Spence — the Global Life Science Leader at EY —
reminded us that we are currently knee-deep in the fourth industrial
revolution. And, key to this brave new dawn is that four letter word that
promises so much: data.
Share on PinterestBig
data is here. What's the next step?
Today, capturing data is
easier than ever. There are more data available to us than we could have dreamt
of just a decade ago. We have almost unlimited processing power at our fingertips.
The question is, which bits
do we pay attention to, who gets to share it, and what shall we do with it?
Spence spoke of the
problems with collating this new-found swarm of numbers. Healthcare data tend
to be spread out and distributed into different silos.
If they could be combined
more efficiently and analyzed effectively, they could be harnessed for the
greater good.
She
quipped that clinicians used to be supported by data scientists but, more and
more, data scientists are being supported by clinicians.
This is the future of
health tech. However, at the moment, you get the feeling that the data we are
harnessing are nowhere near as useful as they promise to become.
One company bent on
harnessing medicine's new-found ocean of data is Heterogeneous.
Though gene sequencing has been available for some time, Heterogeneous are
offering whole-genome sequencing at rates cheaper than could have been imagined
just a handful of years ago.
Anyone can sign up, and,
once you have had your genome sequenced, you get full ownership of your data.
You are then able to select which research projects you would like to make your
data available to.
Heterogeneous pass your
genome (anonymously) over for their study. The researchers receive good-quality
data quickly, and you receive the warm satisfaction of advancing science
passively from your armchair.
This is not a new idea;
plenty of companies offer genomic information to consumers. However, most other
companies sell these data to third parties without informing the customer. This
is completely legal and above board, but Heterogeneous want to be part of a
more open and collaborative future.
Big data vs. personalization
Although many of the
changes in healthcare are predicted to come from the rich tapestry of data that
we collect, there are also changes at the other end of the spectrum:
personalized medicine.
Bruce Levine — from the University of
Pennsylvania in Philadelphia — spoke to an enthralled audience about his work
with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR)-T cell therapy.
In this technology, cancer patients'
immune cells, or T cells, are removed, then genetically trained to target
cancer cells and reintroduced into the patient.
Already tested in leukemia and lymphoma, CAR-T can
save lives — a single infusion with the newly trained T cells can wipe out
"kilograms" of tumor cells.
Though the method cannot yet attack solid tumors, Levine and his colleagues are
hot on their heels.
This intervention is very
much tailored to the individual. In fact, he likened it to an organ transplant
rather than a pharmacological intervention, calling it the "ultimate in
personalized treatment." The patients' own cells are groomed to recognize
and destroy the specific cancer that they carry.
Levine's story also
provides a little insight into how quickly a medical technique can move from
the outskirts to the mainstream.
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He recalled that, just a
few years back, he and the other researchers investigating the potential of
CAR-T were regarded as the "quaint" guys in the corner. Now, they're
the "hot thing," Food and Drug Administration-approved, and, rightfully,
the center of attention.
Generation App
Tech conferences the world
over are awash with smartphones and apps. I had to stop myself from rolling my
eyes when I saw the number of app-based solutions at Wired Health this year.
But I shouldn't roll my eyes.
Yes, I was disappointed
that there weren't more laser-wielding robots and X-ray-powered rocket shoes,
but this was a science conference, not a science fiction conference (Medical News Today won't pay for
my Comic-Con ticket).
Apps are accessible to
millions of people worldwide via a few taps on a device kept in their pocket.
Their incredibly swift rise to ubiquity — let's try to remember that Apple's
App Store only opened its digital doors in July 2008 — makes them a potentially
powerful tool for the good of humanity's health, if wielded in the right hands.
One
such pair of safe hands belongs to Clinova, who have developed an app
called Caidr.
Any health-focused
conference in the U.K. is almost duty-bound to mention the struggling British
National Health Service. Although the reasons for its troubles are largely
political, finding ways to cut corners and save cash are of particular
interest.
Caidr, which was designed
by two pharmacists, helps users to "distinguish minor ailments from a more
serious illness." By answering a series of simple questions, the app's
algorithms assess whether they need to visit a doctor or if a pharmacist could
offer effective over-the-counter medications.
Some examples of Caidr screenshots.
In
the United States, where waiting times to see a doctor have sky-rocketed
over recent years, this app could help to take
the pressure off.
Another company who are
offering an easier, mobile-based route to healthcare is Index Ventures, who
have created an app called Kry. The app allows you to speak with a doctor directly via
your cell phone.
This saves both the
doctor's and patient's time and is significantly easier than having to take
time off work or juggle other commitments to visit the doctor's office. It is
particularly useful for people who cannot visit the doctor easily or who live
in isolated regions.
Kry is already part of
Sweden's health service, and 2 percent of all primary care
appointments take place through the app. Again, this is a good example of
technology that has been around for quite some time that is now being used in
new and useful ways.
Approaching obesity from new directions
A company called Modius have
created a wearable device that stimulates the eighth cranial nerve, helping
people to lose weight.
Share on PinterestThe
Modius brain stimulation headset.
Yes, that might sound like
the science fiction I was hoping for, but it is grounded in solid neuroscience.
As we evolved over
thousands and thousands of years, we faced starvation at every turn.
Because a lack of food was
a constant driving force in our development, our bodies adapted to make it very
difficult for us to lose weight.
During prehistory, keeping
an extra layer of fat was an excellent way to survive. But, now that we have
access to enough food to kill ourselves, holding on to fat is no longer such a
beneficial adaptation.
The hypothalamus, deep
within the brain, helps decide when and how to lay down fat. The Modius device
is able to stimulate one of the cranial nerves that runs fairly close to the
surface of the skin, sending a current through to the brainstem.
From there, the stimulation
moves on to the hypothalamus, reducing appetite and encouraging the body to
move toward a leaner state.
|
T
|
he eighth cranial nerve is
also called the auditory vestibular nerve because it plays a role in our sense
of balance. According to one of Wired Health's staff members — who volunteered
to try the brain stimulation device — it makes you feel a little dizzy. It's
not unlike the after effect of a glass of wine, apparently.
It can also make the user
feel a little sleepy, in the same way that rocking a baby stimulates the
vestibular system and makes them woozy.
This
is not a miracle cure by any stretch, but for people who find it difficult to
lose weight who are active and eating well, this may provide a much-needed
edge.
Although the brain
stimulation technology is, in this instance, cutting edge, the theory behind it
was first uncovered by NASA in 1972, although they didn't realize it at the
time. It took another 30 years to understand that stimulating the vestibular
system causes a reduction in body fat.
The take-home message for
me this year is one of regrouping. In the past decade, there has been so much
innovation that each strand of tech is still waiting to come to fruition.
Today, we see technology
that has already been fine-tuned finally being used to benefit global health.
It's an interesting and app-heavy time for medical science.
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