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Experts have warned about rising AI chatbot use for emotional support and companionship, especially among younger people. Systems such as ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot are increasingly used as confidants, with reports placing therapy and companionship among top reasons. ChatGPT alone has around 810 million weekly active users worldwide. Writing in the BMJ, Susan [...]
A new attempt to create a national, longitudinal health record was one of the big ideas in the 10 Year Health Plan. However, the use case and architecture is far from clear, and there are some big commercial issues to address with health tech vendors… The NHS has a troubled history when it comes to [...]
Microdosing psychedelics seems to lift mood on dosing days, but the effect does not last, according to new research. The findings suggest perceived benefits from taking small doses of substances such as psilocybin mushrooms (‘magic mushrooms’, which contain the hallucinogen psilocybin) or LSD, a hallucinogenic drug, may be acute rather than long-lasting. Microdosing typically involves [...]
Health education platform Patient.info and digital health coaching provider Holly Health have announced a new collaboration. The partnership will bring Holly Health’s personalised digital health coaching service to millions of people when they are seeking reliable information on wellbeing, via Patient.info. It will help users to take small, achievable steps towards long-term improvements in sleep, [...]
By Amit Chadha, CEO, LTTS “Your breathing pattern has shifted slightly today. Would you like to check in?” – pings on the phone of a patient in recovery. Nothing alarming. Nothing intrusive. But it reflects a deep change – her wearable device, home sensor, and care app quietly working together to detect deviations that the [...]
Healthcare Triangle signed an advance agreement to acquire Teyame AI’s Spain-incorporated companies, Teyame 360 and Datono Mediacion, in a planned US$50m deal closing in Q1 2026. The consideration will include cash, common stock, non-voting convertible preferred stock and contingent earnout-based equity. The acquired assets are expected to generate approximately US$34m in incremental annual revenue and [...]
AI therapy ‘works best’ when users feel emotionally close to their chatbot, a study of 4,000 app users suggests. The research highlights what authors say is key to effective chatbot therapy, and the risks of “synthetic intimacy” (forming human-like bonds with AI). Professor Dimitra Petrakaki from the University of Sussex, said: "Synthetic intimacy [...]
London-based startup Punto Health has raised €2.3m in seed funding to scale its AI dementia care platform across the UK and Spain. The seed round was co-led by Shilling VC and Plus Partners, with participation from Exceptional Ventures, Heartfelt, Fondo Bolsa Social and ABAC Nest. Punto Health says the investment will accelerate product development and [...]
A new sound therapy has been found to quieten tinnitus by around 10 per cent on average, with effects lasting about three weeks after treatment finishes. Experts are hopeful that the therapy, which involves patients listening to modified sounds to disrupt brain activity patterns and quieten the ringing, could one day be available as a [...]
Daily scans during prostate cancer radiotherapy could guide changes to treatment to cut side effects, a recent study suggests. Using AI, scientists found that scans taken to position patients for treatment also flagged changes linked to later rectal bleeding as early as one week into therapy. Monitoring these early changes could help doctors decide when [...]
