They are springing up like mushrooms, the innovative e-health solutions. They make patients’ lives easier and support the work of doctors. These smart technologies should definitely pop up on your radar.
1. Jane
Jane saw the light of day in 2019. This invention is the result of a collaboration between Belfius Insurance and Boston Consulting – Digital Ventures. With Jane, these companies want the elderly to live longer independently at home, in an assisted living facility or in a care institution. Jane is not a female robot, but a useful alarm button. It is an IoT solution equipped with AI and discrete motion sensors. That makes Jane not just an alarm system, but a real warning system. Friends, family and caregivers can leave the home of the person in need of care with peace of mind. There is close monitoring of the well-being of the elderly, 24 on 24, 7 on 7. Is something happening? Then a mobile app notifies the people in question.
2. MoveUP
Good rehabilitation is very important. Not only for the patient, but also for the state, because those who rehabilitate well run less risk of complications afterwards. The creators of MoveUP know this all too well. The Brussels start-up wants to help patients who are recovering after surgery on a knee or hip. This is done with a smart bracelet that the patient wears two weeks before the operation. This bracelet monitors the person and collects all kinds of useful data about his or her lifestyle, such as sleep and physical activity. After surgery, the patient is guided through the rehabilitation process via a mobile app. This app provides (thanks to input from the attending physician or physiotherapist) a personal rehabilitation schedule, including exercises and instructional videos, and a drug schedule. Physiotherapists can keep a close eye on the patient’s return to ‘normal life’. A feedback system is built in.
3. SID
E-health encompasses a wide range of applications. There is also robot SID (See, Identify, Destroy) that destroys multi-resistant bacteria in hospital rooms and operating rooms. SID tracks them down, identifies the bacterium and destroys it with a suitable bacteriophage – the deadly enemy of bacteria. Destruction thus happens in a natural way. SID is a product of the company Troika Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 2016. Troika is – appropriately – Russian and defines a sled pulled by three horses, which symbolizes the three subsystems in the robot. If it depends on Troika, SID is the future. Antibiotic resistance will only increase. The robot can also be used outside hospitals, for example in the agricultural or food processing sector.
4. BloomUp
Improving mental well-being and lowering the threshold to psychological help in Flanders, that is the mission of BloomUp. This online help platform is supported by the Christian Mutuality (CM). If you log in to the mobile app, you can get in touch with a professional counselor after just a few minutes. This matchmaking is based on a few questions. The user is then presented with three psychotherapists or psychologists that suit him or her, and can choose one. This is followed by a free and non-binding introductory meeting of fifteen minutes. If it clicks, the online therapy can start. BloomUp already presents promising figures after a year and a half. Every month, 6000 digital therapy conversations take place and already 3000 people with psychological problems have been guided to a professional care provider via the e-health app.
5. Verily Study Watch
The smartwatch cannot be missed in a list of useful e-health applications. The Verily Study Watch provides insight into the home situation of people with Parkinson’s disease. In 2016, Radboudumc and Verily started a study among more than 500 people with the disease. One of the goals was to map the severity of the disease more accurately, because this does not always go well during an evaluation in the hospital. The wearable sensor collected all kinds of data about the patients. In addition, the study participants performed some tests on a regular basis. The result is promising. The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and the effects of medication at home can thus be measured more reliably.
6. Teleconsult
The corona pandemic has ensured that remote consultations are becoming more and more common. Doctors can use various e-health applications for this, such as Clickdoc, Helena, Doctena, FaceTalk, CommuniCare, Telemedi. Telephon Intersysto and Signal are also recommended. WhatsApp is acceptable, but Zoom and Skype are not recommended. The communication must be via end-to-end encryption. Until recently, there was a limit on the number of telephone or video consultations that were reimbursed, but that is no longer the case today. The use of the technological application will only increase. Since 1 August, patients have to pay the patient contribution themselves.