Included in this roundup of the mobile health space are a new iPhone app from Pfizer, a wireless drug delivery device trial, mHealth forecasts, a healthcare cloud service and a mobile-connected diabetes management system.
A new iPhone app from Pfizer aims to help parents occupy or distract their very young children when taking them to the doctors. The company says the Looky Here app is designed to grab the attention, engage and entertain children aged two months to two years during doctor visits or vaccination appointments. The US app’s focus on entertainment is a departure for the company’s US operations, whose consumer-focused iPhone apps have to date been limited to the Robitussin Relief Finder (cold and flu information) and Plan Q (smoking cessation programme).
A new wireless drug delivery device has shown promise in its first clinical trial. This involved the microchip-based implant delivering daily doses of Lilly’s Forteo (teriparatide) to eight women with osteoporosis and researchers reported no toxic or adverse events due to the device or drug, while patients said the implant did not impact their quality of life. The device dosing produced similar pharmacokinetics results to multiple injections, had lower coefficients of variation and bone marker evaluation indicated that daily release from the device increased bone formation.
Cellnovo has launched the world’s first ‘mobile-connected’ diabetes management system, comprised of an insulin pump and an app-based touch-screen handheld device. The system, also called Cellnovo, allows patients to track and manage their diabetes, and securely share clinical information with healthcare professionals via the internet. The London-based mobile medical device company is planning a usability trial of the system, which it says will be the largest study of its kind to investigate insulin pump technology for patients with type 1 diabetes.
Mobile technology will play a significant role in the provision of healthcare services around the world and demand for mHealth services will see the market reach $23bn by 2017, according to a new report. Touching Lives through Mobile Health was produced by management consultants PwC on behalf of mobile operators’ association the GSMA. “By 2017, mobile technology will be a key enabler of healthcare delivery reaching every corner of the globe,” commented Jeanine Vos, executive director, mHealth at the GSMA.
Optum has launched a ‘health care cloud’ service that aims to help healthcare professionals communicate with each other and their patients through secure text and video chat. The US health services company said the service would also allow healthcare professionals to create and deploy their own health applications. “By providing a secure place where more people can contribute to the creation of health applications, and where health professionals can better manage their work and time, Optum can help improve patient experiences and outcomes across the health system,” said group executive vice president Andy Slavitt.
