TrialX Wins NCI’s Developer Challenge for Cancer App

Health IT Startup TrialX Wins NCI’s Developer Challenge for Cancer App

TrialX, an NYC based health IT company was declared a winner of a developer challenge organized by the National Cancer Institute for its application, Ask Dory. Ask Dory helps cancer patients find and connect with clinical trials near them effortlessly.

New York, NY, January 25, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Applied Informatics (TrialX), a New York based Healthcare Information Technology (HIT) startup was adjudged as a winner of the developer challenge on "Using Public Data for Cancer Prevention" sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. The challenge was organized by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) of HIT and managed by Health2.0 (see official HHS press release, http://1.usa.gov/AskDory). TrialX won the competition for its innovative application, "Ask Dory" that enables health consumers to find clinical trials near them and connect with trial investigators. The application was presented last week at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2012 in Maui, Hawaii.

"Ask Dory" uses an intelligent entropy based decision tree algorithm to narrow down the possible matches by leading patients through a step-by-step question answering system. “It is designed to be intuitive and easy for patients to use, unlike many other systems that require patients to fill long forms," explained Dr. Chintan Patel, the lead developer of the application.

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Encouraging HIV testing through SMS

Cell-Life has conducted formal research into using SMSs to encourage people in South Africa to get tested for HIV. Here's the abstract:

Investigation into the Use of Short Message Services to Expand Uptake of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing, and Whether Content and Dosage Impact

Objective:

South Africa has one of the highest human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence rates in the world, but despite the well-established benefits of HIV counseling and testing (HCT), there is low uptake of HCT. The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using short message services (SMSs) to encourage HCT while interrogating the impact of altering SMS content and dosage (the number of SMSs).
Materials and Methods:

About 2,533 participants were recruited via an SMS sent to 24,000 mobiles randomly sampled from a pre-existing database. Recruits were randomly allocated to four intervention groups that received 3 or 10 informational (INFO) or motivational (MOTI) SMSs, and a control group. After the intervention, participants were prompted to go for HCT, and postintervention assessment was done after 3 weeks.

Results:

In comparison with the control, receipt of 10 MOTI messages had the most impact on uptake of HCT with a 1.7-fold increased odds of testing (confidence interval 95%; p=0.0036). The lack of efficacy of three SMSs indicates a threshold effect, that is, a minimum number of MOTI SMSs is required. INFO SMSs, whether 3 or 10 were sent, did not have a statistically significant effect. The cost can be calculated for the marginal effect of the SMSs, that is, the cost to get people to test over and above those who were likely to test without the intervention. Use of 10 MOTI SMSs yielded a cost-per-tester of $2.41.

Conclusions:

While there are methodological issues apparent in our study, the results demonstrate the potential of SMSs to influence the uptake of HCT, the importance of appropriate content, and the need to determine a threshold for SMS-based interventions. These results indicate a potential for SMSs to be used more generally for interventions encouraging people to take health-related actions, and the need for further research in this field. The reasonable cost-per-tester is promising for the scale-up of such an intervention.

A nice list of hematology/oncology mobile apps by @mtmdphd

Michael A. Thompson, MD, PhD, (@mtmdphd) is Medical Director, Cancer Research ProHealth Care Regional Cancer Center.

He has posted his personal list of favorite hematology/oncology mobile apps on ASCO Connection. You can read his commentary here.

Upcoming webinar: "Medical Apps for the iPhone"

HCPLive is hosting a webinar on Jan 31 titled, "Medical Apps for the iPhone"

Brian Dolan from MobiHealthNews will be speaking about popular medical apps for the iPhone. You won't want to miss this webinar on Jan 31. Register here.

The Market For MHealth Applications Reached $US 718 Million In 2011

From research2guidance

2011 was the first year of substantial business in the market for mobile health services delivered via smartphone applications.

The smartphone application market for mobile healthcare increased by a factor of 7 to reach $US 718 million in 2011. Nevertheless, the mHealth market is still in an embryonic state. Theoretically the market potential is enormous given the overall worldwide healthcare market size of US$ 6 trillion (WHO estimate) and the potential use cases and benefits for mobile patient healthcare support.

Within the last year, the growth in the mobile healthcare market has greatly accelerated. The main drivers for this growth have been the increase in the smartphone user base on the demand side, and the doubling of the number of mHealth applications on the supply side. These findings are part of research2guidance’s new Mobile Health Market Report 2011-2016.

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Samsung Galaxy Note with a HUGE 5.3" screen - great for presbyopia

Remember the OQO model 02? This was a pocket-sized Windows PC that had a 5" screen. The company went out of business a few years ago.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is an Android smartphone (or is this a tablet?) that has a huge 5.3" screen. This device might be great for adults who have presbyopia and need reading glasses. This could be the perfect smartphone for people ages 40+

However, be warned that this is a BIG device!

Also, if you miss pulling out a stylus for your PDA/smartphone, you'll love how the Galaxy Note uses an S Pen (Advanced smart pen) so that you can write/draw directly on the screen. Is the stylus pen making a comeback?

The GALAXY Note provides you with the ability to freely capture and create ideas anywhere and everywhere. The S Pen is combined with the full touch screen to create a best-in-class mobile input experience. It is the most advanced pen input technology featuring an array of functions including pressure sensitivity, preciseness, speed and more. With the S Pen, you can easily sketch drawings or write notes with increased accuracy and ease. Also, the S Pen functionality is deeply integrated into the GALAXY Note’s native applications to provide a richer interactive experience.

Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone on AT&T won't appeal to medical professionals

Several years ago, I used to be an avid Windows Mobile user. In fact, I knew many physicians, medical students, and other health care professionals who preferred the Windows Mobile interface over the Palm OS. It's hard to imagine those days when the Palm Treo was the dominant device in the health care sector.

Fast forward to 2012 where the overwhelming majority of medical professionals use the iPhone, an Android smartphone, or a BlackBerry. Palm is out of the picture and some people are wondering what Microsoft is going to do.

Nokia and Microsoft have teamed together to reveal the Lumia 900. This smartphone runs the Windows Phone OS and is going to be available on AT&T. Will this be a smartphone that's going to capture the attention of medical professionals?

The Lumia 900 appears to be a great smartphone for your average consumer, but I doubt that medical professionals will embrace this new device. This new smartphone won't appeal to medical professionals because of the lack of medical apps in the Windows Phone "App Store." Android apps are quickly catching up to iOS. BlackBerry is losing traction in the medical apps space. Windows Phone has a very long way to catch up.