Dr. Lutz Retzlaff, Medical Journalist10.07.21
The MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM is one of the landmarks in the program of MEDICA, the world’s leading trade fair forthe medical sector. It started with as “MEDICA Informatica” in the beginning of the 90s as a special show for software for doctors’ practices and has now become an international meeting point for trendsetters that gives a wide-ranging insight into the future of digitalized medicine. This is again reflected in this year’s program for the English-speaking forum. When MEDICA 2021 will take place from November 15 – 18, 2021 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany, the focus will be on topics such as “Virtual Care & Digital Therapeutics”, “Medical Artificial Intelligence & Robotics” and “Fields of Innovation" as well as “Societal Aspects of Digitalized Healthcare”. New this year: In line with the hybrid event concept for MEDICA, the expert panels, tech talks and sessions can be followed either live on-site (at the forum stage in Hall 12) or live streamed via the portal www.medica-tradefair.com with the appropriate ticket. Participants at the live event will also find exhibits on projects from universities and research institutes about these themes in the adjacent exhibition areas.
A significant trend in healthcare IT is influencing user behavior. This is reflected in the motto of the development team for the MIKA app: “You can do more than just be treated. You can act and decide for yourself.” As the first digital healthcare app (DiGA) for cancer patients, the MIKA app has been adopted into the directory of the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM). Dr. Jan Simon Raue, Founder & MD of MIKA, will be one of the first to give a talk at the MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM on Monday, November 15. Promoting mental health is one of the goals. For example, resilience strengths are trained in themed journeys or help is given to deal with feelings such as fear and loss of control.
Based on findings from behavioral therapy and neuroscience, the digital healthcare company aidhere develops healthcare apps such as zanadio. This is the first app that doctors can prescribe to treat patients that are very overweight, with a BMI of 30 to 40. zanadio is based on effective principles for established conservative obesity therapy and implements these digitally. Based on the data entered, it gives patients personalized recommendations. Dr. Nora Mehl, Co-Founder & Managing Director of aidhere GmbH, will explain this in her session.
Digital Drugs: When Software Stimuli Trigger Physical Reactions
Digital drugs are used to trigger a direct physiological reaction using software-generated medical stimuli alone. This is one of the themes that Flying Health focuses on. Its spin-offs, Dopavision and Neuraltrain, develop digital drugs such as those for short-sightedness and mental health, thus aiming to shape the next generation of healthcare. In addition, Flying Health works on advancing and implementing future-oriented IT strategies in the three clinics of the Schwester Euthymia Stiftung [Sister Euthymia Foundation]. Lina Behrens, Managing Director of Flying Health, will moderate the session which Monika Rimmele, Head of Digital Transformation for Siemens Healthineers, will also take part in.
People Make the Final Decision
“Virtual Triage” will be discussed at 4:00 pm on Monday, November 15. Dr. Dominik von Stillfried, Chairman of the Board for the Central Institute for Healthcare Provided by Statutory Health Insurance (Zi), will give an overview of the current status of their work with SmED (structured medical first assessment in Germany). This is the name of the software which supports medical specialists in assessing acute healthcare issues in telephone centers for the German service number 116117. Software alone does not make the decision on the first assessment. Von Stillfried states: “We ensure that people make the decision.” The people in the telephone centers themselves do not give a diagnosis. Instead, they give advice on how the caller can access the appropriate level of care: Is the patient a real emergency, meaning that they may have to call an ambulance? Or can the patient take a little time and consult their doctor in the next few days?
Findings dating from one and a half years ago are now available: “Two-thirds of the callers fall into the “as quickly as possible” and “within 24 hours” categories”, states von Stillfried, and goes into further detail: “When a call is made, then there is already a certain need for care". Von Stillfried adds that the software recommends consulting a hospital for less than a fifth of the patients. However, most people call at times when an on-call medical service is quickly available, and, in general, a hospital does not have to be consulted. The hotline 116117 will also be completed with a digital self-assessment this year, which is also based on SmED. Some statutory health insurance associations will then start a test run for this.
A Hotline with a Smart Network Humming in the Background
Those seeking help can call the first assessment software on the 116117 website, get feedback and then decide on whether they need further support or not. If they do, they call 116117 and can then allow the call center worker to view their assessment using a PIN so that they can receive a detailed care offer. SmED is a neural network that offers more than 50 million query options for around one hundred combinable symptoms including in-depth question-answer combinations. Ultimately, all options lead to nine final decisions, which result from a combination of the levels of urgency and the care required. SmED does not use any artificial intelligence in order to draw conclusions from the questions, and it does not, under any circumstances, replace a diagnosis from a doctor. However, if the shortage of doctors continues to increase and good experiences are gained with SmED, it would also be recommended initially as a self-help measure in suitable cases instead of a visit to the doctor.
Conclusions from the Pandemic for Virtual Healthcare in the Future
Naturally, the COVID-2 pandemic, and above all the period after it, will be discussed. Even after the pandemic, a return to analogue complacency, as was the case before the pandemic, is to be avoided at all costs, warned the Spitzenverband Digitale Gesundheitsversorgung [Central Association for Digital Healthcare] just before the German federal elections. Dr. Anne Sophie Geier, CEO of the Spitzenverband Digitale Gesundheitsversorgung, will take part in an expert panel on the future of virtual healthcare in the post-pandemic period at the MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM on Monday, November 15. However, the Scientific Council for AOK Nordost already stated in March 2021 that after one pandemic, another will come. “We cannot overstate how evident it was that shortfalls on the path to comprehensive digitalization can cause huge damage, particularly in sectors such as healthcare and educational facilities, but also in general management,” reported the Council. The committee speaker, Inga Bergen, will also take part in the expert panel as a speaker on Monday. The panel on virtual healthcare after the pandemic will be led by Dr. Sarah J. Becker from the Institute for Digital Transformation in Healthcare in Witten, Germany.
A “Digital Angel” for Caretakers
The "Digital Angel" project focuses on caregivers. An important part of the platform consists of algorithms for detecting stress. These analyze the ECG data of caregivers and derive indicators of stress. Based on the indicators, the platform will be able to assess when a caregiver is under a lot of stress and suggest suitable measures via the assistance system. This is being developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering ISST and will be presented by Dr. Sebastian Dries, Department Head for Healthcare, in the forum session on November 15, starting at 4:00 p.m.
Machine Detection of Emotions
On Tuesday, November 16, the MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM will start with emotions and their machine recognition. With the title "Medical Artificial Intelligence & Robotics", the focus will be on "affective computing", i.e. systems and devices that can recognize, interpret, process and simulate human emotions. For example, the EmmA project is developing a mobile assistance system that can be used for risk assessment of mental stress in the workplace and for reintegration into the workplace after a mental illness. The starting point is a multimodal real-time sensor analysis using smartphones that interprets physiological and social signals. The forum speaker is Dr. Patrick Gebhard, Head of the Cognitive Assistance Systems Working Group at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. The Bavarian company Audeering even wants to use audio recordings to detect whether a COVID-19 disorder is present. It has made a global name for itself in the field of AI-based audio analysis—especially with its scalable and fast technology to detect emotions from audio signals. Now the company is making available an app for detecting COVID from audio recordings. Dagmar Schuller, co-founder of audEERING, will speak at MEDICA. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz prizewinner Prof. Elisabeth André, from Augsburg, has also been invited. She established pain recognition as a relevant capability for health assistance based on learning machines. Her work is now being used overall to equip robots or virtual characters with the ability to recognize and respond to a human's emotions.
On the other days of the forum, further valuable insights will be given into the present and future of digitalization in healthcare. Anette Ströh, Project Manager for Digital Health and Scouting at the Berlin Institute of Health, will moderate the discussion on “Design Justice” on Wednesday, November17: User-centered design can transform healthcare, from treating illnesses to supporting personal goals. On Thursday, November 18, the topics will include what the new way of working in healthcare might look like—or how digital health technologies could help refugees.
A significant trend in healthcare IT is influencing user behavior. This is reflected in the motto of the development team for the MIKA app: “You can do more than just be treated. You can act and decide for yourself.” As the first digital healthcare app (DiGA) for cancer patients, the MIKA app has been adopted into the directory of the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM). Dr. Jan Simon Raue, Founder & MD of MIKA, will be one of the first to give a talk at the MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM on Monday, November 15. Promoting mental health is one of the goals. For example, resilience strengths are trained in themed journeys or help is given to deal with feelings such as fear and loss of control.
Based on findings from behavioral therapy and neuroscience, the digital healthcare company aidhere develops healthcare apps such as zanadio. This is the first app that doctors can prescribe to treat patients that are very overweight, with a BMI of 30 to 40. zanadio is based on effective principles for established conservative obesity therapy and implements these digitally. Based on the data entered, it gives patients personalized recommendations. Dr. Nora Mehl, Co-Founder & Managing Director of aidhere GmbH, will explain this in her session.
Digital Drugs: When Software Stimuli Trigger Physical Reactions
Digital drugs are used to trigger a direct physiological reaction using software-generated medical stimuli alone. This is one of the themes that Flying Health focuses on. Its spin-offs, Dopavision and Neuraltrain, develop digital drugs such as those for short-sightedness and mental health, thus aiming to shape the next generation of healthcare. In addition, Flying Health works on advancing and implementing future-oriented IT strategies in the three clinics of the Schwester Euthymia Stiftung [Sister Euthymia Foundation]. Lina Behrens, Managing Director of Flying Health, will moderate the session which Monika Rimmele, Head of Digital Transformation for Siemens Healthineers, will also take part in.
People Make the Final Decision
“Virtual Triage” will be discussed at 4:00 pm on Monday, November 15. Dr. Dominik von Stillfried, Chairman of the Board for the Central Institute for Healthcare Provided by Statutory Health Insurance (Zi), will give an overview of the current status of their work with SmED (structured medical first assessment in Germany). This is the name of the software which supports medical specialists in assessing acute healthcare issues in telephone centers for the German service number 116117. Software alone does not make the decision on the first assessment. Von Stillfried states: “We ensure that people make the decision.” The people in the telephone centers themselves do not give a diagnosis. Instead, they give advice on how the caller can access the appropriate level of care: Is the patient a real emergency, meaning that they may have to call an ambulance? Or can the patient take a little time and consult their doctor in the next few days?
Findings dating from one and a half years ago are now available: “Two-thirds of the callers fall into the “as quickly as possible” and “within 24 hours” categories”, states von Stillfried, and goes into further detail: “When a call is made, then there is already a certain need for care". Von Stillfried adds that the software recommends consulting a hospital for less than a fifth of the patients. However, most people call at times when an on-call medical service is quickly available, and, in general, a hospital does not have to be consulted. The hotline 116117 will also be completed with a digital self-assessment this year, which is also based on SmED. Some statutory health insurance associations will then start a test run for this.
A Hotline with a Smart Network Humming in the Background
Those seeking help can call the first assessment software on the 116117 website, get feedback and then decide on whether they need further support or not. If they do, they call 116117 and can then allow the call center worker to view their assessment using a PIN so that they can receive a detailed care offer. SmED is a neural network that offers more than 50 million query options for around one hundred combinable symptoms including in-depth question-answer combinations. Ultimately, all options lead to nine final decisions, which result from a combination of the levels of urgency and the care required. SmED does not use any artificial intelligence in order to draw conclusions from the questions, and it does not, under any circumstances, replace a diagnosis from a doctor. However, if the shortage of doctors continues to increase and good experiences are gained with SmED, it would also be recommended initially as a self-help measure in suitable cases instead of a visit to the doctor.
Conclusions from the Pandemic for Virtual Healthcare in the Future
Naturally, the COVID-2 pandemic, and above all the period after it, will be discussed. Even after the pandemic, a return to analogue complacency, as was the case before the pandemic, is to be avoided at all costs, warned the Spitzenverband Digitale Gesundheitsversorgung [Central Association for Digital Healthcare] just before the German federal elections. Dr. Anne Sophie Geier, CEO of the Spitzenverband Digitale Gesundheitsversorgung, will take part in an expert panel on the future of virtual healthcare in the post-pandemic period at the MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM on Monday, November 15. However, the Scientific Council for AOK Nordost already stated in March 2021 that after one pandemic, another will come. “We cannot overstate how evident it was that shortfalls on the path to comprehensive digitalization can cause huge damage, particularly in sectors such as healthcare and educational facilities, but also in general management,” reported the Council. The committee speaker, Inga Bergen, will also take part in the expert panel as a speaker on Monday. The panel on virtual healthcare after the pandemic will be led by Dr. Sarah J. Becker from the Institute for Digital Transformation in Healthcare in Witten, Germany.
A “Digital Angel” for Caretakers
The "Digital Angel" project focuses on caregivers. An important part of the platform consists of algorithms for detecting stress. These analyze the ECG data of caregivers and derive indicators of stress. Based on the indicators, the platform will be able to assess when a caregiver is under a lot of stress and suggest suitable measures via the assistance system. This is being developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering ISST and will be presented by Dr. Sebastian Dries, Department Head for Healthcare, in the forum session on November 15, starting at 4:00 p.m.
Machine Detection of Emotions
On Tuesday, November 16, the MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM will start with emotions and their machine recognition. With the title "Medical Artificial Intelligence & Robotics", the focus will be on "affective computing", i.e. systems and devices that can recognize, interpret, process and simulate human emotions. For example, the EmmA project is developing a mobile assistance system that can be used for risk assessment of mental stress in the workplace and for reintegration into the workplace after a mental illness. The starting point is a multimodal real-time sensor analysis using smartphones that interprets physiological and social signals. The forum speaker is Dr. Patrick Gebhard, Head of the Cognitive Assistance Systems Working Group at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. The Bavarian company Audeering even wants to use audio recordings to detect whether a COVID-19 disorder is present. It has made a global name for itself in the field of AI-based audio analysis—especially with its scalable and fast technology to detect emotions from audio signals. Now the company is making available an app for detecting COVID from audio recordings. Dagmar Schuller, co-founder of audEERING, will speak at MEDICA. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz prizewinner Prof. Elisabeth André, from Augsburg, has also been invited. She established pain recognition as a relevant capability for health assistance based on learning machines. Her work is now being used overall to equip robots or virtual characters with the ability to recognize and respond to a human's emotions.
On the other days of the forum, further valuable insights will be given into the present and future of digitalization in healthcare. Anette Ströh, Project Manager for Digital Health and Scouting at the Berlin Institute of Health, will moderate the discussion on “Design Justice” on Wednesday, November17: User-centered design can transform healthcare, from treating illnesses to supporting personal goals. On Thursday, November 18, the topics will include what the new way of working in healthcare might look like—or how digital health technologies could help refugees.