Tag Archive for: Digital Health Roundup

March 2023 Digital Health Roundup

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Each month, technology allows providers and researchers to make huge advances in cancer care. Uses for artificial intelligence have expanded into the area of developing new medicines for the fight against cancer. In New Jersey, a new remote monitoring program is being utilized to help patients and providers monitor their cancer treatment journey. Scientists have developed microbubbles to use with ultrasound for more precise bowel cancer diagnosis.

Your New Medicine, Brought to You by AI

Medicines designed by artificial intelligence for conditions including lymph cancers, inflammatory diseases and motor neuron diseases are reaching trials in humans reports Politico. A.I. dramatically reduces the time it takes to develop new medications. Researchers use algorithms for A.I. to go through large amounts of data including chemical compounds, animal studies, and patient information. Using these algorithms helps scientists find what a drug needs to target in the patient’s body, what molecules will accomplish this, and even create new molecules to do the job. One of the biggest obstacles to developing new medications is collecting and reviewing vast amounts of validated data. Artificial Intelligence is making this obstacle much more manageable, improving patient outcomes. Click to read the full story.

New Jersey Cancer Care Launches Remote Patient Monitoring

With the first cohort of patients onboarded for the RPM program, the center aims to achieve greater treatment compliance and drive oncology innovation with connected medical devices, a patient app, and an integrated cloud-based clinician portal reports Healthcare IT News. Providers and patients will both benefit from remote patient monitoring by seeing patient physiological data in real time. Providers can respond quicker and adjust treatment accordingly. Patients use a smartphone app to report and track their symptoms. The patients care team can follow the information gathered in the app and improve the patient’s quality of life. Patients can choose to allow other family members to follow their information through this app, allowing for better care and communication. This remote monitoring is a part of precision oncology, allowing for a more personalized approach to patient care. Using this technology from home is more convenient for the patient physically and financially. Providers can choose to adjust patient treatments to help prevent costly hospital stays. Click to read the full story.

Microbubbles Could Help Bowel Cancer Patients Avoid Life-changing Surgeries

By injecting microscopic bubbles of a safe gas into the bloodstream of bowel cancer patients, the researchers believe ultrasound could be used by surgeons in the future to identify which areas of tissue the cancer has spread to reports Medical Xpress. This method minimizes removal of healthy tissue and reduces the extent of bowel surgery. Reducing the extent of bowel removed decreases the risk of complications such as a stoma after treatment. These microbubbles have a safe gas inside a shell of fat that is like human cells. The bubbles are injected into the bloodstream and ultrasound waves are used on the patient. When the bubbles meet the sound waves, they expand and reflect more ultrasound energy back to the scanner causing a more accurate image. The researchers can see which lymph nodes have cancer and which do not. This method is already successfully used in cardiac and liver patients. Click to read the full story.

November 2022 Digital Health Roundup

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November is full of promise using science to help in the fight against cancer. Scientists have made genetically engineered bacteria robots to release cancer fighting chemicals using magnetic force. Engineers have developed artificial intelligence to help predict the recurrence of a deadly cancer, melanoma. Pancreatic cancer is another deadly cancer that is difficult to treat. Scientists have developed a radioactive implant to help doctors treat pancreatic cancer.

Scientists Use Magnets to Deliver Cancer-Killing ‘Micro-Robots’ Into the Body

Scientists have conceived of a new way to deliver cancer-killing compounds, called enterotoxins, to tumors using bionic bacteria that are steered by a magnetic field, according to a report by Invers published last week reports InterestingEngineering.com . The bacteria hung down a specific tumor and releases naturally produced anti-cancer chemicals to kill the cancer. The scientists use aquatic bacteria because of its magnetostatic quality, it has tiny iron crystals inside that can be guided by magnetic force.

They made genetically engineered bacteria robots whose nanoparticles make them release the chemicals that fight cancer on cue. It is a slimy feces shaped robot that consists of polyvinyl alcohol, borax, and particles of neodymium magnets to move the slime around. It uses biohybrid bacteria. Some cancers can’t be operated on due to the tumor’s location; this treatment offers hope for those types of tumors. These tiny robots have been tested on mice and shown to have three times more precision in the delivery of the biohybrid bacteria to kill the cancer. Find more information here.

AI Could Help Cancer Patients Avoid a Deadly Recurrence

AI could help doctors identify which skin cancer patients are at high-risk of a melanoma recurrence before their initial cancer is even treated- giving them a head start to recommend more aggressive treatments that can prevent a recurrence reports Freethink.com . Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer, and recurrence is often caught in late stages making it harder to treat. In the early stages of skin cancer, it is often just removed and not treated with drugs. The drugs used to treat melanoma are immune checkpoint inhibitors and often can have serious side effects.

If doctors know ahead of time that patients were at risk of recurrence, they could treat the cancer more aggressively with those drugs. A team from Massachusetts General Hospital is training and validating algorithms to predict recurrence of melanoma within five years for patients. They used electronic health records and data from over 1,700 early-stage melanomas to train the AI. They found the two best predictors of recurrence are tumor thickness and the rate of cancer cell division. The AI model was found to have a sensitivity of 76% so the team is trying to improve the algorithm to be more specific. The AI shows great promise for helping doctors fight skin cancers. Find more information here.

A Radioactive Tumor Implant is a Major Breakthrough for Treating Pancreatic Cancer

In what can be called a quantum leap in medical science, the most successful treatment for pancreatic cancer ever recorded in mouse models is here. Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed an approach that completely eliminates tumors in 80 percent of mice across various model types, as opposed to most trials that solely halt the growth of such tumors reports InterestingEngineering.com .

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer related deaths. It is currently hard to treat due to its location and the effects on the surrounding tissue. Scientists have developed an implant that has radioactive iodine-131 that is surrounded by a gel like depot. They can put the implant into the tumor to emit radiation that penetrates the tumor without reaching surrounding tissue. In mice models, scientists use the implant in combination with giving a chemotherapy drug- Paclitaxel. These two together have given good results and are moving into other phases of clinical trials. Scientists believe that the constant radiation to the pancreas makes the drug interact with the cancer in a way that has a stronger effect on the tumor. Find more information here.

August 2022 Digital Health Roundup

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As technology improves, it has a direct effect on improving cancer detection and patient outcomes. New artificial intelligence (AI) is combing several types of available health and research data to predict patients’ cancer outcomes. Improvements in the abilities of the CT scan increase precision of treatments, increasing quality of life for patients. Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia is using AI to improve colon cancer detection for their community.

New AI Technology Integrates Multiple Data Types to Predict Cancer Outcomes

A new study from researchers from the Mahmood Lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital reveals a proof-of-concept model that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to combine multiple types of data from different sources to predict patient outcomes for 14 different types of cancer reports MedicalXpress.com . The researchers used publicly available information from The Cancer Genome Atlas about the many genomic types of cancer. In considering how to treat cancer patients’, clinicians get information from many sources. They use patient health information, patient family history, histology, as well as the genomic sources. This is a large amount of information to consider and is time consuming to gather from all available resources to make accurate predictions of the patient outcome. Researchers have developed an algorithm that learns prognostic information from many sources. This new AI uses the algorithm to help predict the cancer patient’s outcome. Included in this algorithm is information from the doctors about the patient’s immune response, patient radiology, and the patient’s electronic medical record. This AI is another tool to help the physician and patient treat the cancer and have a better outcome. Find more information here.

New CT Technology to Diminish the Overall Burden of Cancer Treatment

The flat table of a CT could only move right to left, back to front, and up and down. The newest technology allows the table to roll, and Dover explained that it is similar to a “log roll,” and it also can move like and “X” reports TrussvilleTribune.com . Radiation used for cancer treatment is a valuable tool, but it can also be very damaging to the surrounding organs and tissues. Clinicians must align the patient in exactly the right position to give the dose of radiation needed, this new CT allows for millimeter precision. The new availability of table positions allows for a higher dose with fewer treatments and greater accuracy. This new CT also is better for patient convenience by decreasing patient travel time with the need for fewer treatments. More of the radiation dose can go directly to the tumor which allows for better chances of a successful treatment. With less radiation damaging other areas of the body, there are less long-term side effects. This gives patients better outcomes short-term and long–term. Another advance with this CT scan is that it can monitor patient breathing cycles. It can show changes in the body position throughout the breathing cycle in real time to help the clinician make the needed adjustments. Find more information here.

Grady Memorial Hospital to Use AI Technology to Improve Colon Cancer Screening

Grady Memorial Hospital is using a new technology platform donated by Medtronic to improve colon cancer screening in medically underrepresented communities reports healthleadersmedia.com . The GI Genius modules uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to help doctors find colorectal polyps in real time. There is a higher risk for colon cancer in Black adults. Once diagnosed, Black adults have been having worse outcomes. Research shows that part of the problem is a knowledge barrier; patients are not aware that the screening age for colon cancer has changed to 45 years of age. At Grady Memorial, 30% of their patients are uninsured so there is a cost barrier to cancer diagnosis and treatment. This technology is an AI-assisted colonoscopy, combining the AI with the physicians’ own eyes and experience. The GI Genius has been shown to improve cancer detection by 50%. Earlier colon cancer detection equals better outcomes for patients. Find more information here.

June 2022 Digital Health Roundup

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June brings exciting news combining science and technology to aid the fight on cancer. Scientists have used an established tool, ultrasound, in a new way to deliver immunotherapy to cancer patients. A Southwest Florida oncologist is bringing new cancer technology to make the delivery of radiation more precise and safer for patients. Ion technology, which is a robotic bronchoscopy, is helping doctors diagnose and treat lung cancer faster.

UTSW Researchers Develop Microbubble Technology to Enhance Cancer Immunotherapy

Researchers at UT Southwestern have developed a first-of-its-kind ultrasound-guided cancer immunotherapy platform that delivers immunostimulant agents to cells for the development of systemic anti-tumor immunity reports utsouthwestern.edu. The microbubble-assisted ultrasound guided immunotherapy of cancer (MUSIC) makes the bubbles oscillate which creates holes to deliver agents into the cells. The immunotherapy agents cause immune responses to kill cancer lesions and tumors. These agents have a lower toxicity and limit the risk of an inflammatory response. Ultrasound is much more affordable and widely available, making this a better treatment option for patients. Find more information here.

SWFL Doctor Uses New Technology to Help Direct Radiation Treatments for Cancer

Dr Dosoretz’s practice is the first in the country to use a new smart system called identify. A combination of hardware and software tool that generates a 3D model of a patient’s body allowing technicians to make real time adjustments for even the slightest movements reports WINKNews.com. This tracking and mapping system makes radiation delivery more precise. The increase in precision of radiation delivery affects the other organs near the cancer less, causing less side effects and less damage to the body. This technology will not deliver the radiation unless the patient is in the exact correct position allowing for better outcomes. Find more information here.

New Technology at South Shore Helps Diagnose Cancer Earlier

The ion technology, in which they are the first in Long Island to have, is a method of how you can streamline someone to get a lung biopsy through a bronchoscope, which is a camera that goes through the airway, and it helps navigate all the way to any part of the lung with this new technology reports islipbulletin.net. During this procedure, the doctors can diagnose lung cancer from a lesion sample as well as obtaining a sample from the lymph nodes. These samples allow for staging of the cancer to be determined all during one procedure. Ion technology allows for a significantly earlier diagnosis and the decision whether surgery or other treatments are needed can be determined earlier. This robotic bronchoscopy cuts the diagnosis time from 4 months down to 3 weeks. Earlier diagnosis of lung cancer can cause a better outcome for the patient. Find more information here.