The Burrill Report

The Qualcomm Foundation has granted $3.75 million to Scripps Translational Science Institute to advance clinical trials of wireless biosensor systems, rapid pharmacogenomic diagnostic tests, apps and embedded sensors for tracking and predicting disease.

The money will support additional staffing and other resources for a three-year program, called Scripps Digital Medicine, designed to move promising medical apps and devices more quickly to hospitals and clinics. The effort will now allow the institution to run four simultaneous digital health trials rather than just one at a time, says Eric Topol, Scripps’ Chief Academic Officer and director of its Translational Science Institute.

“I recommend apps more than prescriptions these days,” say Topol. “I have them recording their blood pressure and other vital signs. Now they’re diagnosing themselves and seeing things they never saw before.”

Clinical validation is an important part of the digital health movement, he says, but can be difficult for small innovative companies that don’t have the deep pockets to support trial personnel and other costs.

A clinical study of AirStrip Technologies mobile healthcare software, led by Topol, will be among the first projects to benefit from the funds. The study, to be conducted in four Texas hospitals that already have strong wireless infrastructures, will test whether AirStrip can help reduce costs and patients length of stay.

In collaboration with DNA Electronics, Scripps will also test a handheld genotyping device to help doctors and pharmacists better tailor their prescriptions to individual patients. DNA Electronics, a spin-out from the Centre of Bio-Inspired Technology in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London and founded by its director, Professor Chris Toumazou, will supply its Genalysis platform for the tests. Genalysis will be used to evaluate how good a fit drugs such as Plavix, Metformin, and Interferon are for particular patients. In addition to hospital-based testing, Scripps will also test Genalysis in retail pharmacies.

Other programs to benefit from the funding include a trial to validate a blood-borne biosensor system employing tiny sensors floating in the blood stream, and the development of mobile apps for embedded sensors.

“It’s usually 10 to 15 years before new technologies are widely accepted in healthcare,” says Chris Van Gorder, Scripps president and CEO. “Once new technology has proven to be good for our patients, we have to shorten the timeframe under which new technology is adopted for use in the medical world.”

The partnership with Qualcomm brings Scripps wireless technology expertise, R&D, and funding to translate innovative discoveries into transformative clinical therapies, says Van Gorder.

“I think we have a real opportunity now to really shift from a sickness model to a wellness model and use technology to monitor patients in the ambulatory environment so we can intervene earlier, or use it to teach them to stay healthier,” says Van Gorder. “Doctors and healthcare providers are going to be receptive to this if the technology is proven to be safe and reliable and we can deal with patient confidentiality concerns.”

To ensure that both clinical and privacy concerns are adequately addressed, Scripps has a digital health committee that is already deeply involved in addressing those issues. In the case of GE Healthcare’s Vscan, a flip phone-sized mobile imaging tool, the group is reviewing how the device is used, how the data it creates is kept private, and how it is recorded to both support future care and protect the hospital in cases where patients challenge care decisions made using it.

“Qualcomm sees the value in combining digital wireless technologies, global networks, genetics and consumer electronics at scale to lower the cost of health care, while increasing quality, access and convenience,” says Don Jones, vice president of global strategy and market development at Qualcomm Life. “Never before has the convergence of technology and medicine brought forth so many possibilities to improve people’s lives on a global scale.”




October 12, 2012
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-scripps_creates_digital_medicine_program_with_qualcomm.html