All articles by Ky Nikitha
Ky Nikitha
Better connected
Patients’ access to treatment and advice is already dramatically improving, as a result of mobile health, or ‘mHealth’. Now, when combined with internet-connected diagnostic devices, it offers novel ways to diagnose, track and control infectious diseases, and to improve the efficiency of the health system. A research team led by Imperial College London has investigated the opportunities and challenges of these technologies. Louise Thomas considers the implications for healthcare worldwide.
Tools of the trade
The Patient Toolkit, developed by the non-profit MITRE Corporation, allows patients to digitally record symptoms, treatments and medications, as well as communicate with providers. It also addresses the needs of healthcare professionals, by generating longitudinal severity and compliance data. Kristina Sheridan, head of the enterprise strategy and transformation department at the MITRE Corporation, and her daughter, Kate Sheridan, discuss how this technology can be used to optimise the care provided to patients.
Map the future
Hot on the heels of the success of the NHS’s 100,000 Genomes Project, which finished at the end of 2018, the NHS Genomic Medicine Service is due to be launched later this year. It aims to bring equitable access to genetic and genomic testing to patients in the UK to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and rare diseases. Professor Clare Turnbull, researcher and consultant at the Royal Marsden Hospital, speaks to Emma Green about how this technology can enhance diagnostic strategies.
Lessons to be learned
Medical imaging has revolutionised healthcare delivery and the next generation of imaging technology promises to be even more powerful, further enhancing the ability of physicians to diagnose and treat an increasingly wide range of diseases at lower radiation doses. Developments in AI are helping improve both efficiency and effectiveness of diagnosis and care. Ajay Kohli, physician at Drexel College of Medicine in Philadelphia, speaks about the recent technological advances within AI.
On the paper trail
Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands and Japan’s Keio University have developed a glow-in-the-dark paper strip for quick detection of infectious diseases. Maarten Merkx, a researcher from Eindhoven University of Technology, talks to Abi Millar about the potential of this technology to provide cost-effective and efficient diagnosis.
