Ned Anderson: The Digital Health Update by Paul Sonnier ⋅ Dec 18, 2017 ⋅ #305

I made this announcement to 60,060 members of the Digital Health group on LinkedIn. If you’re on LinkedIn, please do join the group, which allows you to opt in to receiving these announcements in addition to connecting with thousands of other global stakeholders in digital health. I also send out my Digital Health Newsletter, which you can sign up for and receive for free, here.

The Digital Health Update by Paul Sonnier ⋅ Dec 18, 2017 ⋅ #305

Dear Group,

I’ve published one issue of my newsletter since last week’s group announcement, which you can read below and via the following link: The Digital Health Newsletter for Dec 17

Also, please note that I’m available to deliver my keynote address at conferences and corporate events. You can also advertise in my group announcements, newsletter, and on my website. My professional bio is viewable here and my full list of services is viewable here. I can be contacted via my LinkedIn profile.

Follow me on Twitter @Paul_Sonnier for all the news I share each day.

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If you are a digital health company, event organizer, or provider of other relevant solutions or services you can advertise in my announcements, on my website, and Twitter. Doing so puts you in front of 50,000+ targeted global prospects each week. I also provide strategic consulting and keynote speaking. Contact me for my media kit, standard plans, and pricing.

The Digital Health Newsletter for Dec 17

Congratulations to Andrea Hawkinson, Senior Medical Science Liaison at Insulet Corporation, who is the 60,000th member of the group and has received a free copy of my book! Andrea’s company makes the ‘Omnipod System’, a tubeless and waterproof wearable insulin delivery system.

Reminder: One of my featured events —Digital Medicine & Medtech Showcase— is only 3 weeks away and is the “home base” for the digital health community during Biotech Showcase & J.P. Morgan, Jan. 8–10 in San Francisco. Free access to thought leaders & partners in digital medicine is being offered on Monday, Jan. 8. Full registration includes 3 days of networking opportunities, curated company presentations, specialized sessions, one-to-one meetings, and access to Biotech Showcase, the exclusive biotech investor event featuring 3,500+ attendees and $334B in funding from 900+ vetted investors. RSVP HERE

In a setback to democracy, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ignored the will of a majority of Americans and voted along party lines to undo sweeping Obama-era Net Neutrality rules that were part of 2015’s Open Internet Order guaranteeing equal access to the Internet. The new rules will allow for throttling, blocking, and paid prioritization of Internet services. This would not only stifle democracy, but result in higher fees to consumers, thereby providing a financial windfall to monopolistic Internet Service Providers (ISPs) including AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, and Verizon.

Former FCC commissioner Michael Copps stated: “This naked corporatism is Washington at its worst”. And Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted: “This is an egregious attack on our democracy. The end of #NetNeutrality protections means that the internet will be for sale to the highest bidder. When our democratic institutions are already in peril, we must do everything we can to stop this decision from taking effect.” Senator Sanders also sent out other relevant tweets.

The Nation magazine’s national-affairs correspondent John Nichols suggested that the result of the FCC’s vote would be that the Elites Will Rule the Internet — and the Future. Nichols states that “Net neutrality is the First Amendment of the Internet. It guarantees that speech is equal on the network of networks — whether the words come from Walmart, the corporate behemoth that identifies as the largest retailer in the world, or Walmart Watch, the movement that “seeks to hold Walmart fully accountable for its impact on communities, America’s workforce, the retail sector, the environment and the economy.” Net Neutrality protections assure that the essential democratic discourse on the World Wide Web cannot be bartered off to the highest bidders of a billionaire class that dominates the political debate on so many other media platforms.”

After anonymous sources indicated to the Washington Post that the Trump administration had banned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from using the words “diversity”, “entitlement”, “fetus”, “transgender”, “vulnerable”, “evidence-based” and “science-based”, the CDC’s director, Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, tweeted that there are no banned words. It’s unclear what the truth is here.

LIVING AND SOCIETY

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has issued a warning against the hazards of cellphone radiation, suggesting that people decrease their use of these devices and keep them at a safe distance whenever possible. CDPH director Dr. Karen Smith stated that: “Although the science is still evolving, there are concerns among some public health professionals and members of the public regarding long-term, high use exposure to the energy emitted by cell phones. We know that simple steps, such as not keeping your phone in your pocket and moving it away from your bed at night, can help reduce exposure for both children and adults.” According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) web page ” Wireless Devices and Health Concerns“, there is no national standard for safety limits.

The Sunlight Society — which was founded by a group of 20 researchers under the banner of the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology (AIBRT) — is advocating that there should be an equivalent of the Internet Archive for search engine results, which can sometimes result in a harmful “search engine manipulation effect”. According to Robert Epstein, former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, “This is about new methods of influence that have never existed before, and that are affecting the decisions of billions of people every day without their knowledge, and without leaving a paper trail.” Experiments published by Epstein and his collaborators showed that undecided voters using a mock search engine were influenced at least 20% in their voting preferences by biased search engine results and rankings.

Former Facebook vice president for user growth Chamath Palihapitiya has stated that social media is “ripping apart the social fabric of how society works” and that he feels “tremendous guilt” about his role at Facebook. He also recommended that people take a “hard break” from social media as “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops we’ve created are destroying how society works,” and the “hearts, likes, thumbs-up(s)” provide “No civil discourse, no cooperation; misinformation, mistruth.” He reportedly uses Facebook as little as possible and doesn’t allow his children “to use that shit.” But he also added that Facebook “overwhelmingly does good in the world.”

Facebook recently admitted that using its platform poses a mental health risk. Ironically, the company suggests that the remedy is for users to engage more on its platform. Apparently, it’s ‘passive’ consumption of material that can make people ‘feel worse’. However, Facebook has reportedly continued to prioritize features making the platform more addictive.

Nutritionist Laura Thomas posted an edited cover of Women’s Health magazine on Instagram that was overlaid with body-positive and inclusive messages. According to Thomas, “This cover is the EPITOME of diet culture. This is, of course, their yearly ‘transform’ issue, which promises to ‘shed kilos, strip fat, and build muscle. But remember, going on a diet may transform your body (temporarily, diets don’t work long-term), but it’s not a cure for low self-esteem, it doesn’t help you cultivate body acceptance or good body image, and it can lead you down the path of disordered eating.”

An app-controlled wearable button called Beam features an OLED display and panic feature. The button allows users to display GIF images and slideshows, which can be updated as often as they choose. The companion app enables users to design their own buttons and download photos from their phones or the web. The built-in panic button feature works by pressing and holding the function button for 10 seconds. Once this is done, the device will send an emergency message along with a link to a map of the user’s location to pre-designated recipients. The overarching intent of the $99 device is to spark conversations and help people engage on common interests. The badge can be attached to clothing or a bag.

Baidu’s iQiyi “racy” virtual-reality AI assistant ‘Vivi’ was pulled after questions were raised about the “flirtatious” secretary. The company apologized and stated that the avatar was in beta testing.

Robots that were being used to deter homeless people from setting up camps along the sidewalks outside the San Francisco offices of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) have been removed from action due to public outrage.

WEARABLE TECH

The share price of Fitbit plunged after the company’s stock was downgraded from hold to sell by an industry analyst. Reasons cited for the assessment include the wearable tech market rapidly shifting away from basic devices like fitness trackers — which still represent the bulk of Fitbit’s business — in favor of full-range feature devices like smartwatches. Also, Fitbit has reportedly not been able to “unlock any meaningful healthcare business opportunities” or “inspire meaningful new consumer interest in the category.”

FUNDING AND VC

VC firm Andreessen Horowitz has created yet another digital health-focused investment fund. This new fund is $450 million (the first one was $200 million) and will also invest in startups at the “intersection of biology and engineering.” According to Vijay Pande, “The opportunity is even bigger than we expected,” and “engineered biology” is “where information technology was 50 years ago — meaning on the cusp of transforming every industry.” Learn more on the firm’s website blog post here.

Nextdoor — the neighborhood social networking site — has raised approximately $75 million in a new round of funding. According to a report in TechCrunch, the San Francisco-based company’s platform is used “to communicate with neighborhoods about anything from new restaurants to local crime. In major cities, Nextdoor divides the platform into various sub-neighborhoods.”

HEALTHCARE

Smith & Nephew has launched a handheld digital scanner enabling clinicians to make an on-the-spot diagnosis as to whether a wound is infected with harmful bacteria. The system is reportedly over 50% more accurate than current methods of sending a swab into a lab for testing and, obviously, 90% faster.

GENOMICS

Genomics startup Inscripta has developed a new CRISPR enzyme called “CRISPR-MAD7”, that it says it will give away for free. According to CEO Kevin Ness, “This is a true gift we’re giving to the community because I truly believe this technology is so important that holding it or restricting it is not the company that Inscripta wants to be.” Ness reportedly added that the restrictions that patent owners have put on Cas9 and Cas13b have put up barriers and restrictions for researchers who want to use them. The company would make money via selling custom CRISPR enzymes, machines, instruments, and reagents that make gene editing simpler and more efficient.

In what Antonio Regalado is describing as “CRISPR 3.0“, a new paper has been published by researchers from the Salk Institute in the journal Cell: ” In Vivo Target Gene Activation via CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Trans-epigenetic Modulation.” And Eric Topol tweeted that this article puts the research into context: “A Modified CRISPR Could Treat Common Diseases Without Editing DNA“. Instead of removing or inserting new genes, this new CRISPR technique would simply turn genes on or off. This avoids the potential for unintended consequences like tumors or genetic disease that can result from existing CRISPR gene editing techniques.

FEATURED EVENTS

Digital Medicine and Medtech Showcase 2018
Jan 8-10 in San Francisco, CA (alongside JP Morgan)
At the intersection of technology and medicine: Digital Medicine & Medtech Showcase

XPOMET Convention 2018
March 21-23 in Leipzig, Germany
The Convention for Innovation and High-Tech in Medicine

Digital Health World Congress 2018
May 8-9 in London, UK
The leading technology digital healthcare conference in London, UK and Europe.

EVENT PROMOTION
Please contact me for options on event promotion, including having your event featured at the top of this list, featured in my weekly Digital Health group announcements, newsletter, and on Twitter.

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Please provide the event name, date(s), event website link (direct and not a shortened url), one-paragraph event description, the venue name, and location (city and country). Not all events are relevant to digital health and webinars are typically not allowed, but you can ask me about promotion options.

Paul Sonnier
Author ⋅ Speaker ⋅ Technologist ⋅ Social Entrepreneur
Book: “The Fourth Wave: Digital Health”
Contributing Editor, Innovation & Tech Today
Founder, Digital Health group on LinkedIn
Creator, Story of Digital Health
Twitter: @Paul_Sonnier
San Diego, CA, USA