The world of healthcare is now changing AI, enabling new healthcare providers to make decisions that are more accurate, faster, and data-driven than previous generations. The use of artificial intelligence is wide - from reducing the administrative burden on health professionals to improving monitoring and treatment of fertility.

Another area of medicine and diagnostics where AI has a revolutionary impact is mental health - one of the biggest health and social problems we have to deal with.

The global cost of treating and caring for Alzheimer's patients alone is $ 1 trillion more than $1 trillion a year, underscoring the need for new technology to address this important issue. According to WSO. every sixth world population has a neurocognitive disorder. As many as 60% of diseases of the nervous system remain undiagnosed, up to 90% in developing countries.

Misdiagnosis is another challenge that, according to the National Institute of Social Services, affects about 20% of patients with multiple sclerosis, 20% of patients with Alzheimer's disease and 30% of patients with Parkinson's disease.

At ViewMind, we understand this challenge because we use artificial intelligence in digital biomarkers to predict patients suffering from mental health problems using data collected in a VR-style headset from eye movement patterns. The data is then analyzed by artificial intelligence-driven algorithms that can identify hidden mental health problems.

The societal need for early diagnosis of mental health problems is growing, and new studies emphasize the importance of helping patients before their symptoms appear. Specifically, a new pioneering study published in The Lancet found that the number of adults with dementia worldwide is set to nearly triple to a staggering 153 million patients by 2050. This shows how strange it is that this problem persists, as early diagnosis is needed to help healthcare providers focus their efforts quickly on patients.

Until they are properly diagnosed, many of these patients do not receive the care and attention they need. If a patient begins to receive care only after they show symptoms, healthcare providers are facing a disease that can damage the patient's mental health for decades. Effective treatment must come before symptoms appear, allowing the patient to receive appropriate care, medication, and lifestyle advice. This makes early diagnosis - driven by new technology - even more important.

In general medicine, positive steps are taken when early diagnosis is established and widely available, which supports innovation and treatments aimed at the early stage of intervention before symptoms appear. Examples are colonoscopy, cervical screening and diabetes screening.

If traditional methods of diagnosing cognition are really effective and applicable, this problem is not so serious. Unfortunately, this is not the case because traditional methods are often invasive and associated with a degree of risk.

This is the case for lumbar cerebrospinal fluid punctures, which involve taking a sample of cerebrospinal fluid in the lower back or performing a PET scan to detect amyloid beta or Tau ball deposits. In addition to the risks associated with procedures such as these, tests are expensive and often require huge fees for each patient examination.

This has implications for the whole spectrum of healthcare providers and these studies are speculatively inaccessible.

Relying solely on traditional tests is clearly not the best practice. Diagnosis must be available, sensitive and affordable to help us prepare for the coming dementia epidemic, for example. Our goal at ViewMind is that in the future, we will be able to test millions of people each year in clinical and non-clinical facilities, such as general practitioners or opticians, as part of standard health assessments, as well as in hospital neurology departments. 

Healthcare professionals can use ViewMind technology to perform a 15-minute test with a VR headset ViewMind recently signed a partnership with HP in which ViewMind tests were performed only on the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept VR Headset.

Approximately 100,000 data points were collected by measuring the patient's eye movements during a set of diagnostic exercises. The data were then analyzed by AI to correlate the data of a person with various neurodegenerative diseases, such as AD and multiple sclerosis, which provided an accurate diagnosis and, depending on the test, before clinical symptoms.

The COVID-19 pandemic raises public awareness of health diagnostics and reinforces its vital role in health care. However, beyond the pandemic horizon lies a future with great potential for on-site diagnostics - one in which digitally controlled solutions add even more value to healthcare systems. 

Switch to the test result

Throughout the generation, on-site diagnostics have become an essential tool for healthcare professionals to obtain a diagnostic number based on which a clinical decision can be made, such as a patient's blood glucose level or a C-reactive protein result. But as we appreciated, although it is extremely important, an exact number can do so much on its own.

If we look at health care in 2022 and beyond, rough diagnostic numbers are not enough if we want to add more value to health care systems or become a new model of care. The numbers allow healthcare providers with weights to quickly determine "what to do with the next patient."

Imagine a nurse or doctor in a hospital seeing countless patients with a variety of conditions. in health condition. You get endless numbers every day so you can make the best decisions about an individual care plan for each patient when you are under a lot of pressure. So many questions.

But what if you have some practical understanding and recommendations in the palm of your hand? What if you could suddenly say, 'It's never a heart attack or a stroke. Does this patient need to be given a lot of insulin? "This is more than just words on the screen. They can literally separate life from death.

Digital care point diagnostics

When we think about the future of on-site diagnostics here at Roche, we think: solutions designed with the needs of patients and healthcare professionals in mind, combined with the high quality and performance they rely on. We are looking for solutions that reduce the real pain that healthcare professionals experience in their working lives and that open up a whole range of new models of care. We believe that one of their keys is to harness the power of digitization.

New digital healthcare solutions are changing the diagnostic paradigm today. New digitally connected devices are coming to market that can connect electronic medical records and other devices, provide a comprehensive understanding of a patient's medical history, and assist patients.

This allows them to make confident care decisions and reduce unnecessary and costly testing. Such innovations are particularly useful in resource-constrained environments, where laboratory infrastructure is limited, and in emergency situations where every second matters. Together, these enhanced capabilities can lead to faster and more accurate clinical decisions, more effective patient care, and better use of valuable healthcare resources.

Cobas pulse system: a factor in the future of care

Here, you may be wondering how Roche Diagnostics wants to provide more value to healthcare by playing into this new digital space? Our latest healthcare solution, which we introduced in selected European countries in January this year, begins. The cobas pulse system is the first digitally activated point of care solution in the industry that combines the form factor of a high-performance meter with ease of use and extended digital capabilities comparable to a smartphone.

When we first created this solution years ago, our vision was to move from a handheld meter that has become the status quo to an improved platform for digital solutions. in health. That we combine a high-precision glucometer with the latest module from Roche's set of cobas infinity edge diagnostic software solutions, called smart.

By combining hardware and software innovations, the cobas pulse system will serve as a digital platform enabling digital healthcare application developers to approach healthcare professionals as the first customers - creating a new business partnership model for the future of digital health.

The advantages of such a model?

This means that the cobas pulse system is equipped with a range of third-party digital healthcare applications selected by Roche that perform a number of clinically valuable functions for better care delivery - from clinical decision support to vital signs and biomarkers. Even better, the platform offers almost unlimited possibilities to extend the functionality of the cobas pulse online system.

Once the first customers start piloting the cobas pulse system, we are excited to be able to document tangible examples of how it has improved patient care and the working lives of busy healthcare professionals. But in the beginning, we know this very well: if we want to add value to data, we must avoid using digitization and converting the data point into more meaningful views. In some ways, we are just beginning this exciting journey, but it is a journey we are enthusiastically about.