PROGRAMMING NOTE: Future Pulse will not be published on Wednesday, August 31st. We’ll be back in your inboxes on Wednesday, September 7th.
About 400 health care patents have a connection to the metaverse, the immersive realm that blends virtual and physical reality, according to IFI Claims, a Connecticut company that tracks intellectual property.
Companies with patents include IBM, Microsoft, Medtronic, Siemens and Chinese telehealth firm Ping An. The prospects for improving health care through the metaverse, from medical training to mental health therapy, are promising, but the field is still nascent. As the FDA focuses on mitigating harm to patients, experts say there are concerns about data privacy.
Enric Escorsa O’Callaghan, CEO of IALE Tecnología, a Spanish company that evaluates technologies for companies, said the place of the metaverse in healthcare is still “a bit unclear”. It includes augmented reality that enhances a real-world scene with virtual features, virtual reality that places a person inside a computer-generated environment, social technologies that facilitate human interactions, and sensors that bring real life online.
People can access the metaverse in a variety of ways: virtual reality headsets, mobile phones, computers, and even voice-activated devices.
One of the best use cases for metaverses in healthcare is training. Magic Leap, which makes headsets for viewing three-dimensional MRI and CT scans before surgery, announced a partnership with four health technology companies this year. Medical schools are now using virtual cadavers, in addition to physical versions, to teach anatomy to students.
Now, the training is being put into practice. Johns Hopkins surgeons used augmented reality headsets last year to perform two complex back surgeries.
Home health is part of the metaverse. Vinya Intelligence, which uses sensors and cameras to track the health of seniors at home, has applied for a patent for technology that detects patient falls.
Mental health treatment is perhaps the best-documented use of virtual reality. A large amount of research shows that virtual reality can help patients who have anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. The technology allows patients to face or work through triggers in a simulated environment.
Aaron Gani, CEO of BehaVR, a virtual reality mental health company, said the social aspects of the metaverse are intriguing: “What if it was you and the VR program and I connected with a community of others who are going through similar things or have you been through similar things?”
Regulation: The FDA has a framework for vetting virtual reality, augmented reality, digital therapy and artificial intelligence in medicine.
The biggest problem may be outside the FDA’s jurisdiction.
Gani said companies will be able to collect even more data about a person in the metaverse than they currently do. While the federal law known as HIPAA protects patient data, it doesn’t extend far beyond the doctor’s office. How companies do or don’t protect data that isn’t covered will be something to watch, he said.
Welcome back to The pulse of the future, where we explore the convergence of healthcare and technology. After its purchase of One Medical, Amazon is among the bidders for Signify Health, an analytics company that helps coordinate care at home. Why do you think Amazon wants Signify? Send us your thoughts.
Share yours news, tips and reviews with Ben in [email protected] or Ruth in [email protected] and follow us on Twitter for the latest @_BenLeonard_ AND @RuthReader. Send tips securely via SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp here.
CDC REGULATION – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is planning an overhaul in response to criticism of its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the monkeypox outbreak, POLITICO’s Krista Mahr reports.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky wants to “transform” the agency by releasing data faster, increasing transparency around public health guidelines and communicating more honestly with the public.
Former HHS Deputy Secretary Mary Wakefield will lead a team that will oversee the overhaul, and she will develop a new executive council to “set the agency’s priorities.” Walensky will also push for the CDC to have more authority to collect data and move funds quickly during an emergency.
AGENCIES TAKEN FOR MAKING THEIR TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBLE — Nearly a quarter century after Congress mandated that government technology be accessible to people with disabilities, much of it is not, Ruth reports.
Before senators left Washington for their summer break, the Committee on Aging held a hearing to consider whether agencies are complying with a law requiring their websites and office technology to be usable by people with disabilities. disabilities. About 30 percent of the most popular federal websites don’t meet accessibility standards, according to a 2021 report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, and some agencies, like the VA, are far behind.
The Justice Department is supposed to issue a report examining federal technology access every two years, but has not released one since 2012. Now, Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Tim Scott (R.C. ) are pushing VA and DOJ to bring the federal government into compliance.
ALPHABET EMPLOYEES ARE EXPECTED FOR STRONG PRIVATE – More than 700 employees at Google parent company Alphabet are pushing the company to strengthen privacy protections for people who use Google products to seek abortions, POLITICO’s Alfred Ng reports.
The Alphabet Workers Union sent the petition for data privacy controls on health-related research and a review of company-wide privacy practices to executives last week.
After the Supreme Court ruling returned abortion rights to the states, Google said it would delete the location data of people who go to abortion clinics. But the company has not made similar promises for other data.
Prosecutors can subpoena Internet search data Google collects in states that ban abortions.
ABORTION IS INCREASING – Since from Dobbs Ruling in June, anti-abortion organizations have promoted an unproven practice called online abortion switching, POLITICO’s Ruth and Rebecca Kern report.
Social media posts about the process advise people who have taken the first of two pills needed for a medication abortion to take progesterone to counteract the progesterone-blocking properties of the abortion pill.
However, no studies validate this practice, and the only clinical trial that tested it ended early because three patients hemorrhaged.
This type of content falls into a gray area in many social media platforms’ policies on how to handle misinformation – one where definitive research is non-existent and the level of risk is unclear.
NEW FITBIT APPS HAVE GOOGLE SMARTS — This morning, Fitbit launched its latest line of wearables. This is the first series to combine Fitbit and Google technology since the $2.1 billion acquisition closed last year.
The big update is coming to Fitbit Sense. The watch already had an EKG to check heart health along with the ability to detect stress, oxygen saturation and body temperature. Previously, users could only check for stress. Now the device will tell users in real time if they are showing signs of it.
A BETTER FOOD ALLERGY TEST? – Traditional allergy tests are often inaccurate, leading to overdiagnosis and don’t provide much insight into how much of an allergen a person can safely consume.
This can mean living in fear when you don’t have to. Pennsylvania startup Allergenis is trying to change that with a new type of blood test that can help patients know how much of an allergen they can tolerate.
The research found that the test is more accurate than the traditional one.
Allergenis began marketing the test for peanuts this year and aims to do the same for cow’s milk, eggs and tree nuts within 12 to 14 months, CEO Jim Garner told Future Pulse. On Monday, the company announced it is partnering with telehealth company LifeMD to offer the test through virtual care.
If Allergenis’ test results show a mild allergy, it “alleviates anxiety for children going to birthday parties, for mothers who don’t worry while their children are at school, for adults going to a Thai food restaurant with your friends where you’ve never been before. because you’re allergic to peanuts,” Garner said.
Fish skin to heal wounds – Doctors in North Carolina use fish skin—yes, you read that right—to help heal wounds.
The FDA granted Kerecis marketing authorization last fall for a technology that involves grafting North Atlantic cod skin onto damaged tissue. The human cells are then attached to the fish’s skin to facilitate the healing process.
The company recently received $100 million in funding in part from the investment group behind the LEGO toy company. A study found that the technology was more effective than traditional care for patients with diabetic foot ulcers.
Hector Crespo Soto, a vascular surgeon at the Atrium Health hospital network, told Future Pulse that patients are sometimes skeptical at first, but come around when they see the results. The procedure could prevent amputations, he said.
Serving patients through a screen – Danielle Ofri, op-ed in The Atlantic
Medicare cuts would undermine movement to boost home care – Krista Drobac, STAT News op-ed
Who are the most active early-stage investors in digital health?— Christina Farr, Substack
