Florence, the AI-powered digital health worker provides information on myriad health topics in seven languages By 2030, the WHO projects that 15 million healthcare workers will be missing globally. Introducing Florence, the "[world's most extensive freely accessible AI health worker]( is one way of tackling this issue. Florence is knowledgeable in key health topics, including mental health, nutrition and tobacco cessation, and provides information on COVID-19 vaccines. I just had a chat with her. I hope you will find the newsletter useful! Best regards,
Berci Bertalan Meskó, MD
The Medical Futurist [WHO LAUNCHES THE WORLD'S MOST EXTENSIVE FREELY ACCESSIBLE AI HEALTH WORKER]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The World Health Organization, with support from the Qatar Ministry of Health, has just unveiled the world's most comprehensive and freely accessible AI health worker! The initial version of Florence assisted in combating false information about the pandemic. This new version provides a multilingual, innovative, and interactive platform for disseminating various health-related topics. [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? Will a truly useful chatbot come from the WHO to be used globally? I doubt it, but the message is clear: we need to deploy AI-based medical technologies as healthcare worker shortages will stay with us forever. [HOW TECHNOLOGY HELPED ME DEFEAT A SERIOUS INFECTION]( I got a Hepatitis A infection 3 months ago. Now that I’m almost entirely over it, I wanted to share how digital health devices helped me save my sanity over the past months. Despite being a doctor, going down with an infection like that is a very lonely experience, with only health data casting some light on the seemingly endless road ahead. [WATCH VIDEO]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? This is the result of a cultural transformation and a learning experience. I could have had the same devices 10 years ago, and would not have been able to benefit from their capabilities, nor would have been my GP prepared to make sense of their readings. [Q&A: THE FUTURE OF HOSPITALS, THE HOSPITALS OF THE FUTURE!]( --------------------------------------------------------------- I love how inspiring and thought-provoking questions our audiences have during these Q&A sessions. This time was no exception, we covered a wide range of topics from the future work of nurses to whether the provider industry and medical education are ready to cater to new skill requirements. [WATCH VIDEO]( [THE RISE OF SLEEP TOURISM]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Are you familiar with sleep tourism? It appears to be on the rise, with sleep-focused stays and packages proliferating in hotels and resorts around the globe. "The service includes a sleep-inducing meditation recording, a pillow menu with options that cater to guests who may prefer to sleep on their back or side, the option of a weighted blanket, a bedtime tea developed specifically for the service, and a scented pillow mist." [READ MORE]( WHY IT'S IMPORTANT? This might become a novel form of medical tourism. Altough making sure you get quality sleep at home, (almost) every night would be a much better target on a personal level. [STEM CELL PATCH SURGERY TO MEND SPINA BIFIDA IN THE WOMB]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Doctors in the US have successfully performed surgery on prenatal babies to fix detrimental spinal deformities using a therapeutic stem cell patch method. "Surgeons have already used keyhole surgery on babies in the womb to mend the gap. Now the US team have gone a step further, fitting a patch that contains stem cells, that can grow with the baby." [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? That's simply mind-blowing! Spina bifida, if left untreated, can cause a variety of permanent complications, including mobility impairments due to nerve damage. [HOW GERMANY CHANNELED DIGITAL HEALTH APPS INTO ITS HEALTHCARE SYSTEM]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Digital health applications are becoming more prevalent in our healthcare experience. Partly because they provide quick and convenient solutions to problems caused by traditional medical system capacity shortages or because they improve the capabilities of doctors, medical personnel, or hospitals. While these apps are available in a wide range of medical specialities, integrating them into state-run healthcare systems to reap population-wide benefits is difficult. [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? Germany’s DiGA system tackles this issue with a model that is worth a detailed analysis. [THE ERA OF FAST, CHEAP GENOME SEQUENCING IS HERE]( ---------------------------------------------------------------
After the Human Genome Project was completed 20 years ago, the dream was to be able to sequence a person's genome for 1000 USD when the cost was millions. What is next? "The company, which controls around 80 percent of the DNA sequencing market globally, believes its new technology will slash the cost to just $200 per human genome while providing a readout at twice the speed." [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? To be able to analyze the data and draw clinical conclusions on a massive scale will be a gamechanger. MORE NEWS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE --------------------------------------------------------------- INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE – [Study: Specialized smart soft contact lenses can address global issue of glaucoma diagnosis, management]( HELLO TEDDY – [Q3 2022 digital health funding: The market isn’t the same as it was]( PATIENT-SPECIFIC – [World-first 3D bioprinted bioimpedance chips unlock in-vivo skin disease modeling]( STILL WAITING – [Noninvasive blood glucose monitoring on wearables is nigh]( [color-forwardtofriend-48.png](mailto:berci@medicalfuturist.com) [color-facebook-48.png]( [color-youtube-48.png]( [color-linkedin-48.png]( [color-twitter-48.png]( [color-instagram-48.png]( © The Medical Futurist 2022 This email was sent to {EMAIL}
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