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Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”.
News
🤝Helios, a global healthcare communications group, backed by NorthEdge since 2021, has acquired Cogentia, a leading health economics and outcomes research and market access firm, to further expand its specialist services and increase its global talent base. Cogentia undertakes research and data-led health analysis for a range of global pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, supporting them in getting their products to market and ensuring patient uptake.
❗ Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has started a trial of a new non-hormonal drug trial that will investigate whether it can reverse the debilitating symptoms of endometriosis and reduce the need for surgery. The chronic condition affects one in 10 women in the UK and occurs when the cells that normally line the womb are found elsewhere in the body and can cause painful symptoms including heavy periods, pelvic pain and in extreme cases scarring and damage to the pelvic organs. The Gynaecology and Research and Development team at NNUH are playing a key role in leading a Phase II research study, which will evaluate an antibody designed to reduce inflammation and endometriosis symptoms.
🧠 AI may help psychiatrists predict whether antidepressants will be effective, according to a new study, which could save time for patients and improve their psychiatric care. While antidepressants can be prescribed to treat moderate to severe depression, health professionals have to wait six to eight weeks to see if there’s an improvement and change the treatment if that’s not the case. Using AI, researchers from the Amsterdam University Medical Centre (Amsterdam UMC) and Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands found a way to reduce this delay.
💷 Bupa Ventures has announced the launch of its new Bupa Ventures Fund, with a total of $20 million in funding available for start-ups focusing on innovative models of healthcare across a variety of areas and early focuses including predictive and preventative healthcare, genomics, home care, and remote monitoring.
👩👩👧👧 Persistent Systems, a global provider of digital engineering and enterprise modernisation solutions, today launched an innovative generative AI-powered population health management (PHM) solution in collaboration with Microsoft. Aligned with value-based care models, the solution identifies social determinants of health to determine patients’ non-clinical needs and better predict the cost of care driven by clinical conditions.
Did you know?
A study by the European Migraine & Headache Alliance and The Migraine Trust in the UK has looked at the stigma surrounding migraine and its impact on people affected by the condition.
What we’re reading
From AI algorithms that pick up early cancers, to the ‘doctor-in-your-pocket’ smartphone video consultation, a string of next-generation healthcare technologies are being unveiled. Such innovations have brought huge benefits to millions of patients.
This week’s events
15 February, online – Reuters Webinar: Breaking Barriers: Advance Health Data Interoperability for Seamless Collaboration in Care Delivery
15-16 February, London – International Conference on Digital Healthcare 2024
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