GAFAMS, STARTUPS & INNOVATION IN HEALTHCARE by PHARMAGEEK

• Apple is testing whether the Apple Watch can detect cardiac abnormalities.
• The company is working on the tests with partners including Stanford and telemedicine company American Well, according to two people familiar.
• If successful, the move could turn the watch into a 'must have' for millions of patients.
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The company is partnering up with a group of clinicians at Stanford, as well as telemedicine vendor American Well, to test whether Apple Watch's heart rate sensor can detect abnormal heart rhythms in a cohort of patients, according to two people familiar.

 

Apple's Tim Cook hinted at the company's interest in heart health applications in an interview with Fortune published on Monday.

 

"We started working on the Apple Watch several years ago," he said, and one goal was "performing some measurements of your health that people were not measuring, at least continually. Like your heart. Very few people wore heart monitors. We're extremely interested in this area. And yes it is a business opportunity."

 

Cook went on to describe the medical health activity market as the "largest or second largest component" of the economy.

 

In June, CNBC reported that Apple hired Sumbul Desai, a rising star on Stanford's digital health team who was working on projects related to Apple Watch. CNBC also reported that month that Apple has been in talks with developers, hospitals and other industry groups about bringing clinical data, such as detailed lab results and allergy lists, to its devices.

 

Further Reading:

• “Apple Watch Nerds Working on Prickless Glucose Monitoring Sensor”; http://sco.lt/9IFhWT
• “Will Silicon Valley Startups & Empowered Patients Replace #BigPharma?”; http://sco.lt/9FmPDN

Via Pharma Guy

Since 2009, at least 940 clinical trials using smartphones, watches or other mobile devices have been registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, a database run by the National Institutes of Health. About 290 of these were registered so far this year. Researchers are deploying the technologies to detect epileptic seizures, prevent cardiovascular disease and help U.S. combat veterans adjust to civilian life.

 

Researchers say the digital tools can make participating in medical studies more convenient for healthy volunteers and patients, helping to enroll them more quickly than in many conventional clinical trials. And built-in features such as heart-rate monitors and accelerometers can record data more accurately than study participants relying on recollection or making entries into log books, they say.

 

But researchers also see limitations, including high dropout rates by participants, as well as patient demographics that don’t always represent the broader population—partly because of the high cost of some devices. The Apple Watch costs between $249 and $399.

 

Concerns also have emerged about the privacy of participants’ health data because many of the devices and apps involve third-party vendors, said Charlene Wong, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Duke University School of Medicine who has studied the use of technology in pediatric health care.

 

Apple will face those challenges firsthand with the study of the app’s ability to detect irregular heartbeats—a condition known as atrial fibrillation that often goes unnoticed and can lead to strokes. Anyone 22 and older with an Apple Watch will be able to participate and choose to wirelessly share their heart data with Apple and researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

 

Further Reading:

• “Apple is testing whether the Apple Watch can detect heart problems”; http://sco.lt/954Byz

Via Pharma Guy