News
The mental wellbeing of patients recovering from Covid-19 is low enough on average to require assessment for depression, data from users of a digital health platform shows. Measured against the WHO-5 wellbeing scale created by the World Health Organisation (WHO), patients with Covid-19 reported on average significantly lower feelings of wellbeing in the study. The [...]
US health body the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has pledged US$44m to researchers investigating whether computerised brain training can prevent dementia. The Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training (PACT) study, led by the University South Florida in Tampa, builds on previous research which showed promising results. In 2017, the ACTIVE study found that a small amount of [...]
Many of the UK’s clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), primary care networks (PCNs) and health boards are unknowingly on the hook for the failing healthcare apps brought into the NHS in response to COVID, writes Dr Murray Ellender, CEO of eConsult. There has been a major influx of digital health apps and services into the NHS [...]
UK diagnostics firm LumiraDx is to list on the Nasdaq via a merger with US investment group CA Healthcare Acquisition Corp. The combination reflects a value of US$5bn for Lumira’s existing equity, before giving effect to the transaction. Since its founding, LumiraDx has raised US$700m in equity capital including investments by Morningside Ventures, US Boston [...]
Graham Jarvis reports on why digital transformation in healthcare needs WAN acceleration. Over the last few years healthcare across the world has, like many other industries, embraced digital transformation. During the Covid-19 pandemic this has accelerated in that an increasing number of patients were seen by their GPs over video conferencing, otherwise known as remote consultations. [...]
To mark World Health Day, health tech leaders have come together to address health inequality. They have spoken out in support of the World Health Organisation's call for leadership which ensures everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health. Watch their messages above. Mark Venables, CEO, Highland Marketing, which [...]
Wearing a face mask can protect yourself and others from Covid-19, but the type of material and how many fabric layers used can significantly affect exposure risk, a study suggests. The study by the Georgia Institute of Technology measured the filtration efficiency of submicron particles passing through a variety of different materials. For comparison, a [...]
A new breakthrough in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) could pave the way for wireless devices that improve life quality and independence for people with paralysis. BCIs are an emerging assistive technology, enabling people with paralysis to type on computer screens or manipulate robotic prostheses just by thinking about moving their own bodies. For years, investigational BCIs [...]
Telehealth has become a critical way for doctors to provide healthcare while minimising in-person contact during COVID-19. But with phone or video appointments, it's harder for doctors to get important vital signs from a patient, such as their pulse or respiration rate, in real time. Researchers in the US, however, believe they are closing in on [...]
A new technique that mimics the ancient Japanese art of kirigami may offer an easier way to fabricate complex 3D nanostructures for use in healthcare. Kirigami enhances the Japanese artform of origami, which involves folding paper to create 3D structural designs, by strategically incorporating cuts to the paper prior to folding. The method enables artists [...]
