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  • E-health: Singapore attracts investors and numerous partnerships

    In recent years, Singapore has attracted a lot of investors and companies in the digital health sector has signed numerous partnerships in the private and the public sectors.

    Let’s focus on the most recent agreements established in the field of eHealth in the city-state.

    E-health: why Singapore is attracting?

     In the APAC region, Singapore attracts e-health key-players for its reliability and its strategic location in the ASEAN. The partnership between Philips and the dedicated corporate investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), announced in January, is an example among others.

    In 2016, Dr. Eddy Lee and Kevin Yap, two eHealth experts, explained to H&TI why the « little red dot » is so attractive on this particular market.

    According to them, the city-state is attractive to international contractors for two main reasons:

    • it is an open market on Southeast Asia;
    • it imposes strict rules to gain the confidence of global companies.

    The latest health tech projects supported by the EDB

    Zuellig Pharma investing S$50m in its first health innovation center

    On 5 April 2017, Healthcare services provider Zuellig Pharma inaugurated its first innovation center in the city-state, Zuellig Health Solutions (HSZ). It plans to invest more than S$50 million (US$35,9 M/€36,7 M) over the next five years.

    The establishment was launched with the support of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB). So far, the company has spent nearly S$15 million (US$10,8 M/€10 M) to set up the facility.

    Holmusk collaborates with Singapore to better manage cardio diseases through big data analytics

    In early April 2017, the Singapore digital health and data analytics company Holmusk announced a collaboration with the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) to improve care in the field of heart failure and coronary artery disease using big data analysis.

    This three-year partnership aims to develop better predictive models that can be validated for use in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases in the city-state.

    Supported by the EDB, Holmusk will work with NHCS until 2019 to analyze aggregated data from the Singapore Cardiac Outcomes Longitudinal Database (SingCLOUD), the longitudinal study on heart health of Singaporeans database.

    Diabetes: Livongo raises US$ 52.5 million (€ 48,8M)

    The California company Livongo, specializing in digital solutions for monitoring diabetes, has raised an additional $52.5 million in a round (€48.8 million) with several investors on March 16, 2017.

    Livongo offers a blood glucose monitor accompanied with a service designed to intervene and help coach people through managing diabete. The firm said that this investment was made to extend its services to other chronic diseases related to diabetes, such as high blood pressure or hypercholesterolemia. The company also aims to enter new international markets.

    The round was led by General Catalyst and the international investor Kinnevik. Investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDBI), American Investment Holdings LLC and Microsoft Ventures also participated.

    This is the third investment round made by Livongo. The firm had already raised US$33 million (€30.6 million) and US$44.5 million (€41.3 million) in 2016 from Kleiner Perkins and the investment fund of pharmaceutical company Merck.

    Philips and EDBI have signed a partnership to develop eHealth in Singapore

    A partnership between EDBI an Philips to support digital health companies

    In January 2016, Royal Philips (or Philips healthcare) and EDBI, the corporate investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) have signed a MoU.

    The purpose of this partnership is to jointly invest in high-potential digital health companies that want to break into the Singapore market and, eventually, in the Asian market.

    In July 2016, the Dutch group said more to H&TI about the purpose of this huge project.

    • The main objective is “to build a robust digital health ecosystem that will serve the needs of a growing and aging population in Singapore and Asia,” a spokesman for Philips in ASEAN Pacific explained.
    • “Another key objective of this partnership is to fuel the growth of innovative digital health companies by enabling access to Philips experts, our ecosystem of healthcare solutions and our extensive global network.”

    EDBI and Philips are co-investing in promising digital health companies

    EDBI, the dedicated corporate investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board, and Royal Philips announced on March 6, 2017 they are starting to co-invest in high-potential digital health companies.

    ConnexionsAsia (CXA), Asia’s employee benefits and wellness marketplace platform, is the first of these innovative eHealth companies to be supported by the partners.

    This project is in line with Singapore’s goal to strengthen its position as one of Asia’s leading digital health hubs.

    Philips launches Health Continuum Space to centralize health tech innovations

    Royal Philips (Philips healthcare) launched on January 19, 2017 the Health Continuum Space a first-of-its-kind innovation center in Singapore created to centralize high tech innovations in the healthcare sector in the city-state and, ultimately, co-create new healthcare facilities in order to better meet the future needs of the industry.

    The idea is to brings together different environments and medical scenarios, from the ambulance to the patient’s home. At the end of the day, the goal is to better meet the patients’ need, taking into account the important role played by the home environment, through the use of innovative solutions produced by Philips in the field of health tech.

    Partnerships between the public and the private sectors are growing

    Care Management: Deloitte and the Institute of Mental Health of SG will deploy a predictive system

    The Deloitte Future Healthcare Centre of Excellence, based in Singapore, has signed a partnership with the Institute of Mental Health of the city-state (IMH) to develop a predictive model in order to improve care management.

    This new system will especially help health professionals to guide the behavioral monitoring of outpatients to limit the common causes of missed appointments through targeted care interventions.

    Metabolic Diseases: J&J launched a competition in Singapore to find advanced solutions

    Johnson & Johnson Innovation recently launched in Singapore a global competition to identify high tech solutions to better treat metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and obesity.

    As part of this project, the US company – supplier of advanced products and services in the health care sector – has joined A*STAR’s ETPL, through its Diagnostics Development Hub, and Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART).

    The Singapore Quickfire Challenge – Metabolic Disease Innovation will run from 22 March to 17 May 2017. It aims to identify advanced solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of metabolic diseases that are reaching epidemic proportions in Asia-Pacific.

    Silver economy: Bayer & University of Singapore unite to promote adherence through eHealth

    Improve treatment adherence in the elderly with chronic diseases, such is the objective of the partnership announced late in December 2016 between Bayer and the entrepreneurial center of the National University of Singapore (NUS).

    They unveiled the first « Grants4Apps Singapore » crowdsourcing project that aims to develop technological solutions for innovative health in Singapore and throughout Asia-Pacific to improve adherence, one of the main challenges related to population ageing in the ASEAN region.

    IPAL-CNRS, a French-Singapore laboratory

    Initially, Image and Pervasive Access Laboratory (IPAL) is a research project initiated in 1998 by two researchers, one from Grenoble and the other one from the NUS. After a few years, the duo turned into a multidisciplinary team and from 2007, the organization became an international joint unit (UMI), an official laboratory of the CNRS.

    Mounir Mokhtari, IPAL director, and Fabien Clavier, project manager, talked to H&TI a few months ago about key solutions developed by the French-Singapore laboratory. They are currently working on two main projects : City4Age and Pulse, two programs focused on prevention through the integration of new technologies.

    « The goal is to develop research projects in Singapore in connection with what our teams perform in France to establish a win-win relationship between the two countries in the scientific field. The idea is to bring together people, practices and methods to facilitate discoveries, » summarized M. Mokhtari.

    SingHealth and Medtronic create a center of excellence for the treatment of diabetes

    SingHealth, one of the largest Singapore healthcare group, signed on 31 May 2016 a MoU with Medtronic, an Irish medical device company. The goal of this alliance is to develop a Center of Excellence on diabetes to advance treatment and care management in Southeast Asia, where the disease is progressing quite rapidly.

    « We believe this will set a strong precedent for industry to participate actively in co-creating new healthcare solutions which will benefit healthcare in Singapore and the region, » said Thien Kwee Eng, assistant managing director, EDB.

    Investments: Europe and the United States bet on the city-state

    Southeast Asia: Unitus Impact leads $6.3M round in promising eHealth startup mClinica

    In February 2017, Silicon Valley-based Unitus Impact has finished a US$6.3 million (€5.98M) Series A round financing in mClinica, a eHealth start-up based in Singapore.

    MClinica is growing in the health tech marketplace. The firm plans to use its new funds to expand its operations in Southeast Asia and even worldwide.

    Mobile app purpose: collecting relevant health data in Southeast Asia by connecting pharmacies on a single platform to help industry professionals and public sector players to better know the market.

    Galen Growth, a catalyst for the growth of Asia’s healthtech ecosystem

     In an interview published at the end of 2016, the international investor Julien de Salaberry, founder and CEO of The Propell Group, told H&TI more about this knowledge of the eHealth market. He talked about three important points:

    • 1. The development of Galen Growth Asia, a small company he recently cofounded in order to advance the discussions on health-tech sector across Asia;
    • 2. the characteristics of the investment in Asia;
    • 3. the complexity of establishing a sustainable business model.

    A one-stop shop for startups specializing in medical technology

    A one-stop shop for medical technology start-ups will be established soon in Singapore. No specific launch date has been provided so far.

    The aim of this creation is to fast-track the commercialization of innovative ideas, ranging from breakthrough diagnostic and surgical technology to cutting-edge connected devices. Unveiled at the end of June 2016, the project is a collaboration between Singapore incubation firm Clearbridge Accelerator and English product design and development company Cambridge Consultants.

  • Singapore: EDBI and Philips are co-investing in promising digital health companies

    EDBI, the dedicated corporate investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board, and Royal Philips announced on March 6, 2017 they are starting to co-invest in high-potential digital health companies.

    CXA, Asia’s employee benefits and wellness marketplace platform, is the first of these innovative eHealth companies to be supported by the partners.

    This project is in line with Singapore’s goal to strengthen its position as one of Asia’s leading digital health hubs.

    Helping CXA to monitor patients’ health in order to better prevent chronic diseases

    Founded in 2013, CXA has now grown into a $100-million company (€ 93,962).

    The startup, based in Singapore, develops digital health solutions which enable employers to better control healthcare costs. The group provides them with targeted personalized wellness intervention programs for employees.

    Results: employees’ health and therefore their productivity are improved, claims and insurance premiums are reduced, employers can make more efficient use of employee benefits dollars.

    With the support of both partners CXA will be able:

    • to access to health technological solutions developed by Philips and Dutch group’s business partners across the healthcare continuum, from prevention to diagnosis, treatment and home care.
    • to leverage Philips’ digital health platform to analyze data and integrate Philip’s health monitoring devices and services to track employees’ vital signs and provide them with targeted guidance by the use of clinical algorithms, to help them prevent and manage chronic diseases.

    « [CXA embodies] the leading innovation and ambition that we want to champion through this partnership with EDBI. We are now looking to accelerate and get more high-potential companies on board, to deliver better health outcomes in Singapore [and] support the Committee for Future Economy’s priorities for economic growth [but also] continuing on our Philips journey to achieve our ambition to improve the lives of three billion people a year by 2025, » said Caroline Clarke, chief executive officer, Philips ASEAN-Pacific.

    Philips and EDBI: an alliance to help the industry meet the pressing healthcare needs

    EDBI and Philips unveiled in 2016 the details of their joint investment partnership to stimulate the creation and commercialization of connected health solutions in the fast-growing Asian healthcare market.

    The purpose of the alliance is to help promising digital health companies to boost their technological capabilities to innovate, evolve and expand regionally and globally to help them meet the pressing healthcare needs for an aging Asian population.

  • Southeast Asia: Unitus Impact leads $6.3M round in promising eHealth startup mClinica

    In February 2017, Silicon Valley-based Unitus Impact has finished a $6.3 million (€5.98M) Series A round financing in mClinica, a eHealth start-up based in Singapore.

    MClinica is growing in the health tech marketplace. The firm plans to use its new funds to expand its operations in Southeast Asia and even worldwide.

    Mobile app purpose: collecting relevant health data in Southeast Asia by connecting pharmacies on a single platform to help industry professionals and public sector players to better know the market.

    One of the largest series A financing for an eHealth Southeast Asian company

    The oversubscribed round lead by Unitus Impact is one of the largest Series A financing for a digital health firm in Southeast Asia.

    Other investors who joined the financing round include:

    • Global Innovation Fund (London);
    • MDI Ventures (Indonesia);
    • Endeavour Catalyst (US);

    Existing investors, 500 Startups (United States), IMJ Investment Partners (Singapore) and Kickstart Ventures (Philippines), also participated.

    MClinica: collecting pharmacy data on a single platform to better monitor market developments

    Founded in 2012 in Singapore, mClinica now connects thousands of pharmacies on common platforms through a mobile application.

    The three main « missions » of mClinica:

    • connecting pharmacies on a common platform;
    • providing quick and easy access to new data sources;
    • developing programs from the collection of this data to improve patient affordability and health outcomes.

    The first task of the application is to track what medicines are being prescribed, dispensed and bought in small pharmacies, whose activities are often unknown by other market players because there are usually isolated and unconnected.

    An application reserved for industry professionals and public players

    • The mClinica’s app is for pharmacy stores.

      The device provides them:

      • a loyalty program for their customers, enabling them to offer discounts (a big help in developing countries, where the poor have usually limited access to medicines), and so encourage them to share their data and to be enrolled into a program that helps them better understand their health conditions and reminds them to refill when they are running low on supply;
      • news from the industry;
      • other tools to better manage their business.
    • There is no consumer application.

    Customers simply provide their mobile phone number to the pharmacist to register and again at the counter for future purchases in order to claim loyalty points and discounts. Information about their purchases is collected by the pharmacy and send to the mClinica’s platform to get reimbursement by the drug companies.

    All data are « desensitized » to protect consumer privacy, the Singapore firm said.

    Once analyzed, the collected data is used to produce reports that can be sold to pharmaceutical companies, to devise programs to improve patients’ health while boosting their sales, but also to public sector players who want to follow the sector development in Southeast Asia.

    Making millions of health data accessible for a more transparent market

    « Trillions of dollars are spent by the public and private healthcare sectors and often there is no data to guide the right programming and policy decisions, said Farouk Meralli, founder and CEO of the Singapore startup. At mClinica, we are connecting once-fragmented pharmacies on a common platform providing a unified set of global health data that has never been available before. Our goal is to rapidly transform the availability and quality of global health data in a matter of months not decades. »

    Mr Meralli explains that the ASEAN region currently has no access to most of the health data available in the area because the market is dominated by small ‘mom and pop’ style stores (97% of all pharmacies in Indonesia, according to M . Meralli – source: TechCrunch):

    • Pharmaceutical companies want to know more about their business, supply chains, etc., in order to make more appropriate business decisions.
    • Governments and NGOs would like to access more relevant data in real time to be able to shape policy.
    • For consumers, this lack visibility affects the price of medicine, which are high and growing at a faster rate relative to their income. By sharing their data, the market would become more transparent and thus, pharmacies would be encouraged to offer more competitive prices.

    MClinica plans to expand rapidly in Southeast Asia and perhaps internationally

    The specific number of users of mClinica service has not been revealed by the company. Farouk Meralli simply said that his form has a potential reach of 70 million patients through the more than 5,000 pharmacies it works with.

    The startup plans to use its new funds to increase its reach by using offline communication methods (advertising on the street sales for example) associated with digital means, especially on social networks, to reach more pharmacies.

    Imminent launch in Malaysia and Thailand

    In addition to its headquarters in Singapore, the mClinica service is currently present in three major Southeast Asia markets: the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. The company would like to expand to cover Malaysia and Thailand before the end of 2017. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are also on the list of countries where the startup intends to set up.

    Initially, mClinica was designed for massive markets, such as India and Brazil, but the Philippines was actually selected for a first pilot following a request from a prospective customer. Since then, the company has focused on Southeast Asia but it also considering an expansion of its activities in other parts of the world in the future.

    A « systems changing » company

    Since raising its seed round in 2014, the mobile application has continued to increase its network of pharmacies. The company has won international pitching competitions and has acquired in 2015 an equity stake in Medix, a Philippines healthcare and SaaS company.

    Unitus Impact managing partner Partner Beau Seil describe mClinica as a « system changing » company able to change the healthcareindustry in developing countries.

  • Données de santé : Enovacom plaide pour une gestion de « bout en bout » (livre blanc)

    • Se concentrer sur le parcours de soins à l’hôpital,
    • Augmenter l’interopérabilité en faisant communiquer les systèmes de production de données issues des dispositifs médicaux entre eux et dépasser les frontières de l’hôpital,
    telles sont les priorités pour faciliter la compréhension et le partage des données de santé énoncées par la société Enovacom, spécialisée dans les solutions d’interopérabilité, dans son livre blanc publié le 21 avril 2017.

    Pour publier ce positionnement, l’industriel Enovacom s’appuie sur le point de vue d’experts du secteur, d’études et des sources nationales et internationales, ainsi que sur deux études de cas dans des établissements de santé.

    Dans ce livre blanc, Enovacom s’appuie sur des points de vue d’experts du secteur de la e-santé, tels que:

    • Yannick Michel, Directeur Organisation et Système d’Information, Hôpital Privé Confluent (Groupe Confluent)
    • Stéphane Kirche, Responsable de la Direction de l’ingénierie biomédicale de territoire Nord-Saône Loire Bresse Morvan
    • Nelly Mazet-Lacombe, Cadre de santé, Centre Hospitalier de Bagnols-sur-Cèze
    • William Rolland, Responsable eSanté, SNITEM (Syndicat National de l’Industrie des Technologies Médicales)
    • Jean-Baptiste Michon, Product Marketing Manager, Expert interopérabilité biomédicale, Enovacom
    • Mélanie Dufrou, Marketing & Communication, Enovacom,

    sur diverses études, nationales et internationales, ainsi que sur deux études de cas dans le Centre Hospitalier de Bagnols-sur Cèze et la Clinique Saint Paul de Fort-de-France en Martinique.

    Etat des lieux des données de santé produites par les dispositifs médicaux : entre diversité de pratiques et insuffisante généralisation de la connexion

    La première analyse avancée par  la société Enovacom dans son livre blanc illustre une trop grande diversité des pratiques d’utilisation et une insuffisante généralisation des données patients.

    Des normes, des protocoles et des formats divers

    « Comment améliorer l’interopérabilité quand près de 200 éditeurs de données de santé appliquent des normes, des protocoles et des formats d’échanges différents? » s’interroge Enovacom. La multiplication des interfaces induisant une multiplication des fonctionnalités engendre un véritable frein à l’établissement d’une interopérabilité efficace et à celui d’un dossier patient exhaustif centralisant l’ensemble de ses données.

    Une généralisation insuffisante de la connexion des dispositifs médicaux

    Les dispositifs médicaux sont une source très importante de données de santé comme par exemple:

    • l’électrocardiogramme connecté au Centre Hospitalier de Bagnols-sur-Cèze,
    • l’alimentation automatique du dossier patient informatisé en récupérant les données des dispositifs médicaux de la clinique Saint-Paul.

    Enovacom constate que l’insuffisante connexion des dispositifs médicaux au dossier patient informatisé rend le partage des données difficile. Cela engendre une diversité des modes de centralisation pouvant mener à :

    • une nécessité de ressaisie, responsable d’une réelle perte de temps,
    • une éventuelle perte de données qui ne seront pas exploitées,
    • un risque non négligeable d’erreur,
    • un problème d’identito-vigilance.

    L’implication des équipes de soins en est impactée. Ces dernières critiquent un « outil imposé plus que souhaité, une surcharge de travail due au traitement automatisé de l’information et une complexité d’utilisation ».

    Un rôle prépondérant des dispositifs médicaux dans la production de données

    Selon Enovacom, il y a un réel déficit, en Europe et aux États-Unis, dans la connexion des dispositifs médicaux au dossier patient alors qu’ils produisent des données pouvant alimenter ce dernier. Pour le moment, aucune étude n’a été réalisée en France quant à ce taux de connexion des dispositifs médicaux au dossier patient contrairement aux États-Unis qui présentent un taux de connexion des dispositifs médicaux de :

    • 24% pour les dispositifs de surveillance,
    • 19% pour les dispositifs de mesure d’activité fœtale,
    • 15,1% pour les électrocardiogrammes,
    • 9,3% pour les ventilateurs.

    Il y a ainsi en France, une très grande proportion de la production de données qui demeure inexploitée et/ou nécessite une saisie manuelle.

    Développer l’interopérabilité au-delà de l’hôpital

    Une fois que la compréhension, en termes d’utilisation et d’exploitation, et le partage de données sera facilité à l’hôpital, Enovacom plaide pour « dépasser les frontières de l’hôpital » pour développer le parcours de soins grâce à la télémédecine et aux objets médicaux connectés (IoMT).

  • Japon : une peau électronique pour surveiller la santé des patients

    Des chercheurs de l’Université de Tokyo (The University of Tokyo) viennent de mettre au point une peau électronique composée de matériaux flexibles pouvait être portée sur le corps humain. L’outil est dix fois plus mince qu’une cellule de peau et ultra léger.

    Équipée de diodes électroluminescentes rouges, vertes et bleues et de micro appareils électroniques, l’E-skin offre de multiples fonctionnalités, dont un suivi précis de l’état de santé de l’utilisateur.

    Une seconde peau capable de mesurer le pouls et le niveau d’oxygène en temps réel

      

    Le film adhésif et flexible mis au point par les chercheurs du Someya Group Organic Transistor Lab de l’Université de Tokyo peut être utilisé comme un tatouage amovible pour afficher une image sur la main de l’utilisateur.

    L’idée serait, à terme, de remplacer le téléphone mobile par cette peau intelligente. Mais l’E-skin intéresse surtout les acteurs de l’industrie de santé pour ses capacités pointues de suivi : composée de capteurs ultra précis, elle peut notamment mesurer le pouls et le niveau d’oxygène dans le sang de la personne qui la porte.

    Un capteur relié à l’E-skin

    Pour cela, les scientifiques à l’origine du produit ont élaboré un capteur pouvant être attaché au bout d’un doigt afin de mesurer les pulsations cardiaques et le niveau d’oxygène dans le sang de l’usager. L’outil est relié à un écran souple sur lequel les résultats peuvent être affichés (voir photo ci-dessus).

    En mesurant les changements de couleur de la lumière passant par la peau, l’appareil est à même de déterminer le niveau d’oxygène dans le sang. Selon les concepteurs, ce type de technologie pourrait également être utilisé pour mesurer le pouls et d’autres activités physiques.

    Un outil facilitant le suivi des patients pendant et après une opération

    Non invasive, cette technologie pourrait s’avérer utile aussi bien pour les athlètes, qui seraient capables de contrôler en temps réel leur rythme cardiaque, leur taux d’insuline ou encore leur vitesse moyenne, que pour les équipes médicales, qui pourraient suivre sans intervention l’état de santé des patients pendant et après une opération chirurgicale.

    E-skin : une technologie plus flexible et plus résistante

    « Comment serait le monde si nous disposions d’appareils d’affichages capables d’adhérer à notre corps et même de montrer nos émotions, notre niveau de stress ou de malaise ? Non seulement nous n’aurions pas à transporter un périphérique avec nous à chaque instant mais en plus ils pourraient améliorer la façon dont nous interagissons avec ceux qui nous entourent ou ajouter une toute nouvelle dimension à la façon dont nous communiquons », commente le Pr. Takao Someya, responsable du groupe de recherche travaillant sur ce projet à l’École supérieur d’ingénierie (Graduate School of Engineering) de l’Université de Tokyo.

    Un système très souple pour suivre les mouvements du corps

    Pour concevoir l’E-skin, l’équipe du Pr. Someya a mis au point un film protecteur de moins de deux micromètres d’épaisseurs, soit un matériel cinquante fois plus fin qu’un cheveu humain.

    Elle y a intégré des électrodes transparentes d’oxyde d’indium-étain afin de concevoir des diodes électroluminescentes (LEDs) assez puissantes ainsi que des photodétecteurs organiques suffisamment fins pour se plier sans être altérés par les mouvements du corps.

    Électronique portative : vers une nouvelle génération d’appareils ?

    L’électronique portative n’est pas une nouveauté. Parmi les produits les plus célèbres dans ce secteur : les Google Glass, proposées dès 2013 par le géant américain.

    L’E-skin se démarque sur le marché en raison de sa résistance. La plupart des dispositifs électroniques flexibles ne sont pas aussi souples, ils ont donc tendance à être plus fragiles, et ils ne fonctionnent pas aussi longtemps lorsqu’ils sont exposés à l’air libre ou à l’humidité. Les premiers tests ont montré que la peau électronique conçue par les chercheurs de l’Université de Tokyo pouvait fonctionner pendant plusieurs jours lorsqu’elle était posée sur la peau alors que les appareils actuellement disponibles ont en général une espérance de vie de seulement quelques heures.

    Reste à savoir si l’adhésion du public sera suffisamment importante pour envisager un développement à échelle internationale.

  • Japan: an electronic skin to track patients’ health

    Researchers from the University of Tokyo have developed an electronic skin composed of flexible electronics that can be worn on the human body. The tool is ten times thinner than a skin cell and lightweight.

    Equipped with red, green and blue polymer LEDs and micro-electronics devices, the E-skin offers many features, including accurate tracking of the user’s health.

    A second skin which can measure pulse rate and blood oxygen levels in real time

    The adhesive and flexible film developed by researchers of the Someya Group Organic Transistor Lab at the University of Tokyo can be used as a removable tattoo to display information on a screen on the back of the user’s hand.

    The idea is to eventually replace mobile phones by detailed LED screens. But the E-skin especially attracts health sector stakeholders because of its sophisticated tracking capabilities: composed of highly accurate sensors, it can measure pulse rate and blood oxygen levels of the user.

    A sensor connected to the E-skin

    To develop this functionality, the scientists behind the product have created a sensor that can be attached to a finger tip in order to measure pulse rate and blood oxygen levels of the user. The tool is connected to a flexible display on which the results can be shown (see picture above).

    By measuring the changes in the color of light passing through the skin, the device could determine the blood oxygen levels. According to the designers, this technology could also be used to measure pulse rate and other physical activities.

    A tool to facilitate monitoring of patients during and after surgery

    This noninvasive technology could be useful for both athletes, who would be able to monitor in real time their heart rate, insulin level or work rate, and also medical teams, who could monitor the patients’ health during and after surgery without intervention.

    E-skin: a more flexible and resistant technology

    « What would the world be like if we had displays that could adhere to our bodies and even show our emotions or level of stress or unease? In addition to not having to carry a device with us at all times, they might enhance the way we interact with those around us or add a whole new dimension to how we communicate, » said Prof. Takao Someya, head of the research group working on this project at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering.

    A very flexible system to follow the movements of the body

    To design the E-skin, the Pr. Someya’s team has developed a protective film that is less than two micrometers thick, a material about fifty times thinner than a human hair.

    The researchers embedded indium tin oxide electrodes into it in order to create highly flexible polymer light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic photo-detectors which are thin enough to distort in response to body movement.

    Wearable electronics: towards a new generation of devices?

    Wearable electronics aren’t a new area. Among the most famous products in this sector, there is Google Glasses, launched in 2013 by the US giant.

    The E-skin stands out in the market because of its resistance. Most flexible electronic devices are not as flexible as the E-skin, so they tend to be more fragile and they don’t retain their characteristics for long in the open air or in damp conditions. Initial tests showed the electronic skin developed by the Someya’s team could last for several days when attached to skin while the currently available devices generally have a life expectancy of only a few hours.

    The next question is whether the product will be sufficiently attractive to consider international development.

  • Big Data : le rédacteur en chef de NEJM plaide pour un changement culturel sur le partage des données

    Saluer ceux qui produisent des données de qualité plutôt que de glorifier uniquement les chercheurs qui en tirent les conclusions, telle est la thèse du Dr. Jeffrey Drazen, rédacteur en chef du New England Journal of Medicine, défendue à Boston le 4 avril 2017 lors du sommet sur le partage de données.
    Alors que la recherche utilise de plus en plus l’analyse de données, avoir des cohortes de grande taille et partager précocement les données devient un facteur clé de succès pour les équipes de chercheurs. Cela implique un changement de paradigme, à la fois dans le monde de la publication scientifique, et dans celui de la valorisation des données.

    Atteindre l’équilibre entre le partage de données et les intérêts privés

    S’il semble évident pour le Dr. Drazen que le partage de données accélère l’élaboration de traitement et vient en aide aux patients, d’autres scientifiques ont exprimé une certaine réticence à partager leurs données en arguant que des concurrents les devanceraient dans le domaine de l’analyse.

    Le sommet sur le partage de données de Boston a suscité des divergences entre les chercheurs. Beaucoup d’entre eux veulent s’assurer que les données qu’ils partagent seront utilisées de manière responsable. Dans le champ des essais cliniques, le partage de données a un certain coût financier qu’il convient de bien jauger en fonction des essais, comme le souligne le M. Devereaux, professeur à McMaster Université.

    Bénéfices du partage des données : vérifier ou refuser des conclusions et une plus grande transparance

    Le partage des données scientifiques peuvent servir à vérifier des conclusions de recherches. En effet, confronter les données aux conclusions permet à d’autres scientifiques de vérifier ou refuser une conclusion.

    Le Dr. Drazen pointe également un gain de transparence dans les recherches scientifiques via le partage de données.

    Changer de paradigme

    Le « Cultural change » dont parle le Dr. Drazen est de déplacer le mérite dû à la publication d’articles reposant sur des données vers celui de la production de données en elle-même. Il s’agit de « donner du crédit académique à ceux qui génèrent des données ». Dr Drazen conclut en déclarant qu’ « aujourd’hui, on s’inquiète de ce qui est vrai ». Selon lui, le partage de données rend plus crédibles les docteurs que la simple phrase: « ayez confiance, je suis médecin ».

    Les universités et les media spécialisés porteurs du changement

    Ce changement de culture doit avant tout être initié par les doyens et comités des universités de médecine. Mais les media, tels que le Comité international des éditeurs de journaux médicaux peuvent proposer, comme cela a été le cas en janvier 2016, que les documents d’essais cliniques soient pris en compte dans leurs journaux et que les scientifiques doivent partager leurs données dans les six mois suivants les essais. 

  • Colloque « Données de Santé en vie réelle » à la Cité Universitaire de Paris le 13 juin 2017

    Organisée par l’AFCROs, la 9e édition du Colloque Données de Santé en vie réelle aura lieu le 13 juin 2017 à la Cité Universitaire de Paris.

    Cet événement s’articulera autour de deux sessions thématiques organisées en tables rondes :
    • Les différentes sources de données (bases médico-administratives publiques ou privées, données objets connectés, données e-santé, données études ad hoc, panels, in silico…) et leur accès (réglementation, faisabilité, coût, design);
    • Sources de données : Quelle exploitation ? Quel intérêt ? Quelles limites méthodologiques ?

    Vous pouvez consulter le programme via le lien ci-contre : Programme
    L’inscription (payante) est réalisable via le lien ci-contre : Inscription

    Le Comité Scientifique sera composé de Farid Benabdallah – J&J, Mohammed Benanni – AFCROs, Stéphane Bouée – AFCROs, Florence Chartier – Lilly, Anne D’Andon – HAS, Cécile Droz – Bordeaux Pharmacoépi, Gregory Emery – CNEDiMTS, Guy FAGHERAZZI – INSERM, Cécile Fouret – Medtronic, François GUEYFFIER – UCBL, Eric Leutenegger – AFCROs, Gaëlle Nachbaur -GSK, Pascale Cousin – SNITEM, Aurélie Schmidt – AFCROs, Eric Vicaut – AP-HP, Alain Weill  – CNAMTS |

  • IA: In crisis, Baidu plans to become the market leader, including in e-health

    The Chinese Internet giant Baidu places artificial intelligence (AI) at the center of its future development, particularly in the healthcare sector.

    However, the company has faced some serious problems in recent months, including the unexpected departure of Andrew Ng, a star researcher recruited in 2014 by the CEO of the Chinese group Robin Li to represent the group in the field of AI.

    Baidu launched a health center based on artificial intelligence

    In early February 2017, the web giant has shut down its business unit dedicated to mobile health care to refocus on research more artificial intelligence-enabled healthcare research and innovation

    Part of the two-year-old unit’s operation team will be merged into the group’s AI business and search business.

    According to Kirk Boodry, an analyst of the British research firm New Street Research, cost efficiency would be behind the decision to close the mobile health care unit, which « was apparently under-performing » relative to the other units of the company.

    The health care business unit set up by Baidu was focused on internet-enabled services, such as helping people make hospital appointments online or consulting doctors for medical advice online. Robin Li, the CEO of the group, describes these technologies as « low-tech ». The businessman said recently in a forum that artificial intelligence could « redefine » the health care industry. He believes that AI and big data technology could be used in genetic testing and facilitate the development and the testing of new medicines.

    Baidu has to find a sustainable economic model

    the January hiring of Lu Qi, an expert in artificial intelligence, as the group president and chief operating officer is also part of Baidu’s strategic restructuring. The former Microsoft executive has been recruited the company’s core online advertising business took a big hit from a paid medical listing scandal in 2016: a young patient suffering from cancer died after seeking out an alternative treatment from a paid listing on Baidu’s site. This accident tarnished the company’s reputation and triggered Chinese government’s tighter control over online advertising.

    The Chinese group has since decided to focus more on artificial intelligence. In the healthcare sector, the firm launched in October 2016 Melody, an AI-powered conversational bot which is able to provide relevant information to doctors to to assist with recommendations and treatment options.

    However, Baidu had to overcome serious challenges in terms of strategic positioning, New Street Research technology analyst Kirk Boodry said. « Growth in its core internet advertising business is slowing and competition from social media is increasing, he said. The company has good technology credentials but it is hard to monetize AI research. Over time, efforts like autonomous driving could be the way to do that but the business model has yet to be developed. »

    In crisis, Baidu innovates in AI to get better

    Founded in 2000 by Robin Li, the 7th richest man in mainland China, the Chinese internet giant plans to become the leader in the development of artificial intelligence in the country. In 2015, it was the major player in Chinese internet with a daunting 80.80% market share – 9.20% for Google -, revealed the marketing blog China Internet Watch. The company also launched a in 2016 a $200 million fund (€ 189 million) focused on AI, augmented reality and deep learning and a  $3 billion fund for tech investment, said Reuters.

    But this ambitious project dedicated to artificial intelligence is countered by the occurrence of setbacks for the company.

    On March 21, Andrew Ng announced his departure from the company. The artificial-intelligence researcher was a valuable asset for the company in the field of AI. The ex-Google employee was recruited to internationalize the company and to embody the company’s values and vision in the global market of artificial intelligence. He remains one of the world’s leading experts on artificial intelligence.

    After the announcement of his resignation, Baidu’s shares fell 4% on March 22 compared to the peak recorded two days before and the Chinese newspapers has begun speculating on the capabilities of the Beijing group.

    This bad news for the group has been preceded or followed by other setbacks.

    • Operating profit for the full-year 2016 decreased 14% from 2015;
    • advertising revenues decline, especially because the company has to compete with the platform of e-commerce Alibaba and Tencent, resulting in a decline in sales in the third quarter of 2016 and a decline announced in the fourth quarter, between 1.7% and 4.6%;
    • the company achieved a bad investment by buying in February Raven Tech, a Chinese start-up specializing in AI whose dysfunction is a challenge, especially because some of its employees, overpaid, would do « absolutely nothing, » said the French newspaper Liberation, quoting one of its sources based in Beijing.

    Baidu has launched a second laboratory focused on AI

    Despite this main challenges, the Chinese tech giant doesn’t give up. On March 31 he announced the opening of a second laboratory dedicated to AI in Silicon Valley, in addition to the one launched in 2014 in Sunnyvale (California).

    The new facility will employ 150 researchers, said the Chinese media group Caixin.

    Analysts said Baidu would turn into a group focused exclusively on artificial intelligence. The firm sees AI as a « key strategic focus for the next decade, » said Robin Li. At the beginning of 2017, the group CEO has named its chief operating officer Lu Qi to head its newly established intelligent driving group, a Chinese expert trained in the United States and reputed to be an expert in artificial intelligence, ensured Robin Li. With the recruitment of this leading AI expert, who holds 40 patents in the US, the company is confident in the ability of Baidu  to become « a global leader in artificial intelligence. »

    IA: The Chinese group will have to face strong competitors

    Baidu wants to become an AI leader in different sectors, including in healthcare, in automotive and in electronics. The company has started working on the creation of an autonomous car in 2014 and a connected speaker to compete with Echo, designed by Amazon. In March, Baidu Researchers have also proved  that AI could retain information recorded in the past, while assimilating new knowledge, which is an important step in the future of this new technology.

    However, Baidu is not the only Chinese company to invest in AI. In March, Didi Chuxing, the « Chinese Uber », opened its first Californian R&D center focused on artificial intelligence. Tencent and Alibaba are also investing heavily in the sector. The National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China (NDRC), a central planning agency in the People’s Republic of China, revealed a program to develop a market worth more than $15.26 billion (€ 14bn) by 2018.

  • Singapore: Zuellig Pharma investing S$50m in its first health innovation center

    On 5 April 2017, Healthcare services provider Zuellig Pharma inaugurated its first innovation center in the city-state, Zuellig Health Solutions (HSZ). It plans to invest more than S$50 million (US$35,9 M/€36,7 M) over the next five years.

    The establishment was launched with the support of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB). So far, the company has spent nearly S$15 million (US$10,8 M/€10 M) to set up the facility.

    An innovation center to better manage health data and to test health tech solutions

    The ZHS has entered into a MoU with the National Health Group of Singapore to create predictive models for early detection of diseases and for analysis of treatment costs and quality, by using data analysis systems.

    In the second half of 2017, it plans to launch in the city-state a mobile application designed to help patients better manage their chronic diseases.

    As part of the creation of this new center, Zuellig Pharma is looking for over 50 healthcare, technology and data experts based in Singapore.

    Helping doctors to develop more effective treatments and better support patients

    As the first and only company’s innovation center, the ZHS will be the center of all development work in the field of data, digital and diseases management solutions that will allow physicians to develop more efficient treatment plans, better support patients with chronic diseases and help payers to manage their healthcare costs.

    The ZHS: a test bench for eHealth solutions before a regional deployment

    The ZHS will also be a test bench for eHealth solutions, such as chat bots, online consultations with nurses and various mobile health applications before a deployment in the rest of Asia, said Maarten Kelder, Zuellig Pharma’s head of strategy and solutions.

    Access to health care is one of the main concerns of the ZHS

    The ZHS will focus primarily on on addressing existing gaps in the healthcare sector in Asia, including access to care.

    According to the World Health Organization, nearly 130 million people in Southeast Asia do not have access to essential health care services. Thanks to its new center, Zuellig Pharma would like to facilitate access to these services into the second and third-tier cities in the region.

    « Take Vietnam for example, the local industry has always been centred on Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi or Da Nang. If you live in the rural areas, you will not have access to higher-end medicine from abroad, » said John Davison, the CEO of the company.

    « Singapore is the obvious choice » (J. Davison, CEO of Zuellig Pharma)

    The creation of the new Zuellig Pharma’s innovation center comes after the recent transfer of the headquarters of the firm from Hong Kong to Singapore.

    M. Davison said he made that decision because many of the company’s clients in the pharmaceutical industry and the consumer health sector, such as GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, are based in the city-state. « And if you look at the ecosystem for digital technologies and big data, Singapore is the leading centre. So for me, Singapore is the obvious choice, » he added in an interview with Channel NewsAsia.

    In addition, the firm has been in Singapore since 1939. Founded in 1922, it now has over 800 employees in the city-state and have an almost billion-dollar business here. « [This] is not a strange place for us. »

    « Another advantage which is often overlooked is that by locating in Singapore, (…) Zuellig Pharma’s management team will be located very close to the decision makers of many of its key clients… This offers opportunities for partnerships and supplier relationships which would not be so easily established if your clients are located (hours-long) flights away, » said Beh Swan Gin, chairman of the EDB, present at launch.