Digital Health Coffee Time Briefing ☕

Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”.

👇 News 

🧐 A research team from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has developed an AI tool to help predict which cardiovascular patients are at increased risk for poor right ventricular function, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The research team trained a deep learning–ECG model to predict right ventricular dilation, dysfunction, and numerical RVEDV and RVEF using data from a 12‐lead ECG paired with reference‐standard cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) volumetric measurements sourced from patients in the UK Biobank. The model was then validated at multiple health centers within the Mount Sinai network. 

📉 Latest NHS England figures show that the number of adults requesting and being deemed eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is languishing below pre-pandemic levels, according to analysis from retirement specialist Just Group. The number of people deemed eligible for NHS CHC has fallen by 39% from 4,230 in Q2 2017/18 to 2,568 for the same quarter in 2023/24. And the percentage of completed assessments where the applicant is assessed as eligible for the same period has dropped by a quarter, from 27% being assessed as eligible (Q2 2017/18) to 20% (Q2 2023/24) hitting a record low. 

🤝 FIZE Medical, the provider of an advanced fluid-management platform digitizing urine-output monitoring, has been awarded a national group purchasing agreement with Premier, Inc. through its KIINDO pediatric performance group and collaborative. FIZE Medical’s patented FIZE kUO technology tackles offers precise minute-by-minute digital UO monitoring down to the microliter resolution accuracy for ICU patients of all ages, including pediatrics and neonates. The device empowers healthcare professionals to detect kidney function deterioration, allowing for timely interventions and treatment adjustments.

💉 Veracyte has announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire C2i Genomics, expanding its diagnostics platform to include whole-genome minimal residual disease (MRD) detection capabilities from cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in liquid biopsies. C2i’s MRD solution requires less than a tube of blood (as little as 3–4 mL blood or 1–2 mL plasma), can go from sample to result in just two weeks, and delivers improved performance compared to imaging and other molecular tests. Under the terms of the agreement, Veracyte will pay $70 million in shares at closing and up to an additional $25 million based on the achievement of future milestones over the next two years, payable in Veracyte shares or cash at Veracyte’s election. 

📈 Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have developed an AI-based medical imaging technique capable of analysing the gene activity found within tissue microenvironments, which may have significant impacts on precision medicine and pathology, according to a study published last week in Nature Biotechnology. 

❓ Did you know that? 

Christmas in 2023 proved ‘less lethal than average’, says a leading blood testing expert. Though more people tend to die of heart problems during Christmas week than at any other time of the year, there were 7,447 deaths in England and Wales over Christmas just passed, compared to 9,517 in 2022 and a five-year average of 8,228.

📖 What we’re reading 

More on digital transformation in the NHS – Ben Riley, director of Aventius, examines more on digital transformation in the NHS. 

🚨 This week’s events 

Jan 9-12, Las Vegas – CES 2024 conference