Medical Design Briefs - March 2023 - 34

cooperation. For example, with PT Timer,
a physio therapeutic app, patients can
describe what went well and what did not
when the training is complete. The app
lets patients complete their programs
smoothly while following their health
therapist's instructions.
Chronic Condition Management
Apps. According to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
six in 10 Americans live with a chronic
disease, and four in 10 have more than
one condition. In addition, the number
of people of different ages with chronic
diseases is rising annually.3
It also makes sense to set up a vendoragnostic
integration with devices for
tracking vitals. Such apps also have an
analytic solution that assists patients
and doctors with tracking their health
data over time and identifying various
trends and patterns.
The mHealth solution can also assist
patients with shifting to healthy
lifestyles with the help of customized
reports regarding different nonclinical
data.
An added benefit is that these chronic
condition management apps can
help patients reduce their healthcare
spending. In some cases, the app enables
a patient to reach out to the doctor
to ask a question, which may be all
that is needed, with no further consultation
required.
n More Harm than Good?
At times apps designed to help can
turn dangerous. That is not only about
chronic condition management apps
but also about solutions for relatively
healthy people. For example, an article
published in JAMIA in February 2020
looked into safety concerns.
The researchers studied more than
74 publications describing mobile apps
of this kind and found that 80 percent
of those contained 80 potential health
risks; 83 percent of those risks covered
health information an app provided. It
was either incorrect or incomplete.
Moreover, some apps prompt users
to engage in risky behavior. For instance,
an app for monitoring alcohol
consumption offered users data on
how much more alcohol they could
take before their driving ability was
affected.
To prevent providing erroneous or
dubious recommendations, it is essential
to have qualified medical professionals
reviewing the developer's app
content. Professional medical consultants
can help ensure that an application
provides benefits and does not
contain any harm.
n Summing up
Given the growing popularity of mobile
medical applications, interest in them from
providers, users, and developers is also
This article was provided by iTransition,
Lakewood, CO. For more information,
visit www.itransition.com.
Wearable Skin Patch Monitors Hemoglobin in
Deep Tissues
A photoacoustic sensor
could help clinicians
diagnose tumors, organ
malfunction, and more.
UC San Diego
San Diego, CA
A team of engineers at the University
of California San Diego has developed
an electronic patch that can
monitor biomolecules, including hemoglobin,
in deep tissues. This gives
medical professionals unprecedented
access to crucial information that
could help spot life-threatening conditions
such as malignant tumors, organ
34
dysfunction, cerebral or gut hemorrhages,
and more.
" The amount and location of hemoglobin
in the body provide critical information
about blood perfusion or
accumulation in specific locations.
Our device shows great potential in
close monitoring of high-risk groups,
enabling timely interventions at urgent
moments, " says Sheng Xu, a professor
of nanoengineering at UC San Diego
and corresponding author of the study.
The paper, " A photoacoustic patch for
three-dimensional imaging of hemoglobin
and core temperature, " was published
in Nature Communications.
The new, flexible, low form-factor
wearable patch comfortably attaches to
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the skin, allowing for noninvasive longterm
monitoring.
Low blood perfusion inside the body
may cause severe organ dysfunctions and is
associated with a range of ailments, including
heart attacks and vascular diseases of
the extremities. At the same time, abnormal
blood accumulation in areas such as
in the brain, abdomen or cysts can indicate
cerebral or visceral hemorrhage or
malignant tumors. Continuous monitoring
can aid diagnosis of these conditions
and help facilitate timely and potentially
life-saving interventions.
The new sensor overcomes some significant
limitations in existing methods
of monitoring biomolecules. Magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) and x-ray
Medical Design Briefs, March 2023
growing. But how to choose which project
to launch?
Developers should explore the options
available and weigh the potential
hurdles that each one presents. The
main risk shared by all mHealth applications
is the potential danger to users.
Danger occurs when industry specialists
are not involved in the development.
Without careful review and approval
by medical professionals, the project
may bring financial losses and litigation.
Therefore, it is always better to
have an industry expert or clinician
assist in the development process
in order to build safe and effective
mHealth solutions.
References
1. " GVR Report: mHealth Apps Market Size, Share &
Trends Report - mHealth Apps Market Size, Share
& Trends Analysis Report By Type (Fitness, Medical),
By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific,
Latin America, Middle East & Africa), And Segment
Forecasts, 2022-2030, " Grand View Research,
http s://www. grandviewresearch.com/
industry-analysis/mhealth-app-market.
2. " Types of purchased health apps in the U.S. 2022, "
Statista, Aug. 23, 2022, https://www.statista.com/
forecasts/1181559/share-of-health-apps-purchased-by-americans-by-type.
3.
" Chronic Diseases in America, " Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for
Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,
https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/
infographic/chronic-diseases.htm.
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/mhealth-app-market https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1181559/share-of-health-apps-purchased-by-americans-by-type https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1181559/share-of-health-apps-purchased-by-americans-by-type https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/chronic-diseases.htm http://www.itransition.com http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com
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