Disease regression, drones with defibrillators and disinterested doctors? Welcome to the digital world of 2022.

2022 is already making a name for itself in the world of innovation, with a number of attention-grabbing digital health products debuting at the Consumer Electronics 2022 show earlier this month.

Among the plethora of healthcare-focused technology was Avokad, a portable breath analysis device that provides users with insights on their nutritional needs, based on analysis of the ketones in their breath.

But it’s not just avocado-shaped breath analyzers that are saving the day, drones want in on the action too! In the depths of winter in Sweden, a 71-year-old experienced a cardiac arrest while shoveling snow. A drone turned up with a defibrillator and he was resuscitated by a nearby doctor, saving his life. Someone experiencing cardiac arrest needs help within 10 minutes in order to survive. Everdrone’s Emergency Medical Aerial Delivery (EMADE) service can send a defibrillator drone, making it possible to keep the patient alive before an ambulance arrives.

On the subject of hearts, Vantari VR have developed a virtual reality-based right heart catheter training program delivered in three stages. The first stage will train clinicians in performing catheterization; the second stage involves the recognition of waveforms from real patient cases; and the final stage covers the management of complications.

Things are also stepping up in the field of brain, spinal cord and nerve disorders, with STEPS Rehabilitation based in Sheffield now home to MindPod, the world’s first immersive neuro-animation experience that delivers brain repair. A recent study shows it has double the effectiveness of conventional rehab for upper limb recovery in stroke.

A good beat gets our feet tapping … and legs moving!

MedRhythms is an experimental digital therapy that combines sensors and music to help people with Parkinson’s disease walk. NMT or ’neurologic music therapy‘ uses music and feedback to help train the brain during physical therapy. Following rehab with NMT, many patients’ walking abilities improved.

But as we all know, our mental health is just as important as our physical.

Wired magazine examined what happens when an AI knows how people feel – an interesting article about how AI can understand our emotions and predict and prevent negative behavior as well as how sentiment analysis works.

They also provided an interesting take on how online gaming offers another way to communicate. For people with anxiety about their appearance or speaking, gaming is an opportunity to discover ’a voice in its different forms’. It noted that children who struggled with in-person therapy began to come alive and develop more confidence in a virtual environment.

Among the crowd of anxiety-busting gaming is the company Mightier who develop video games aimed towards children who need help with anxiety, tantrums or anger, but also those with diagnoses like ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder and autism spectrum disorder. These are paired with a wearable heart-rate monitor, allowing them to practice how to calm down and take a pause when upset.

But are HCPs drowning in a digital ad downpour?

Apparently so! According to a recent survey, Pharma marketers don’t have a good understanding of what HCPs need. Instead, results suggested they are overwhelming doctors with emailed drug promos and not tailoring the content. A total of 70% of HCPs in this survey felt that reps “do not completely understand their needs and expectations,” while 62% of HCPs were “overwhelmed” by the promotional content they receive from Pharma companies. HCPs cited webinars and webcasts, in-person meeting discussions, online journals, websites and offline journals as preferred interactions. The survey also pointed to an increase in the adoption of social media by HCPs, which is expected to rise in the coming years.

Outside of Pharma, HubSpot released their annual survey of digital marketing trends for 2022. Top line opinions were that influencer marketing will become even more common, short format video marketing will increase, mobile optimization will continue to be crucial, permanent social media posts will overtake short-lived content, and corporate social responsibility will be of major importance.

That’s all for this month!

Now, with all that reading, chances are your eyes might be feeling a little funny! Check out this article on why staring at screens is making our eyeballs longer – and how to stop it.

#WordFromTheWeb

At AS&K, one of our key values is Being Curious ‒ asking what if, why not, could we? The Word From the Web blog series is one example of how we are horizon scanning and infusing the latest innovations within our medical communication services. Want to learn more about how AS&K can help you stay in front of the latest trends? Contact our Business Development Director, Alana Zdinak at alana.zdinak@asandk.com today!