Ned Anderson: The Fourth Wave: Digital Health Update ⋅ Paul Sonnier ⋅ Mar 6, 2018 ⋅ #316

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The Fourth Wave: Digital Health Update ⋅ Paul Sonnier ⋅ Mar 6, 2018 ⋅ #316

Dear Group,

I’ll be delivering the opening keynote address at the XPOMET Convention in Leipzig, Germany on March 21. Running through the 23rd, XPOMET features an innovation congress, future health exhibition, startup specials, and much more. http://xpomet.com
This is the first keynote I’ll be delivering since publication of my book and I’m approaching it in a style akin to a TED Talk. I focus on my journey which led to modernizing and promulgating the term ‘Digital Health’ around the globe, the history of the previous three major technological impacts on society, and the key concepts and timeline of The Fourth Wave.

The Fourth Wave: Digital Health Newsletter for Mar 5.

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My book, “The Fourth Wave: Digital Health” is available in digital and paperback at Amazon.com, here. You can also learn more about the book, here.

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The Fourth Wave: Digital Health Newsletter for Mar 5

Regarding my presentation, while I’ve covered the concepts in my book in previous keynotes, this is the first one I will be delivering since publishing the book. Moreover, I’m approaching my presentation in a style akin to a TED Talk. Similar to my book, I focus on my journey which led to modernizing and promulgating the term ‘Digital Health’ around the globe, the history of the previous three major technological impacts on society, and the key concepts and timeline of The Fourth Wave. I also try to inject a little humor. I’m always surprised at what entertains an audience and what doesn’t, so we’ll see how it goes.

I’ve added a new featured event to my global event list: The Conference Forum’s Mobile in Clinical Trials Europe, which takes place May 15-16 in London, UK.

Barbara Streissand — who has reportedly “spoken out against GMOs and Monsanto” — recently announced that she cloned her pet dog twice. By using cells from her pet before it passed away, a Texas company named ViaGen Pets was able to to clone it. According to Streisand: “I was so devastated by the loss of my dear Samantha, after 14 years together, that I just wanted to keep her with me in some way. It was easier to let Sammie go if I knew I could keep some part of her alive, something that came from her DNA. A friend had cloned his beloved dog, and I was very impressed with that dog.” Streisand adds that: “They have different personalities. I’m waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her [former dog’s] brown eyes and seriousness.” While awaiting the results of the cloning (it’s not always successful), Streissand had also adopted another dog and taken in a puppy from a litter by a dog named ‘Funny Girl.’ Let’s just hope we don’t get a sequel to the movie of the same name entitled ‘Funny Clone’. (See my comment above about my trying to inject humor!)

LIVING AND SOCIETY

Historian and author Niall Ferguson isn’t convinced that Russian interference is completely to blame for the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election. In this video episode of Big Think Science, he makes many important points including: “What is true is that without the existence of Facebook and Twitter it would’ve been very hard for an outlier outside a candidate like Donald Trump to win.”

It turns out that ride-hailing services like Uber an Lyft are congesting cities with more cars, not fewer. Studies suggest that these companies are pulling riders off mass transit (e.g. buses and subways), bicycles, and even their own feet and putting them in cars instead.

Further bad news on ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft surfaced in a report by MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, which indicated that the median hourly wage for 74% of drivers of these services is just $3.37, or less than the minimum wage. And 30% even end up losing money as a result of their ’employment’ by the companies. The study factored in the cost of insurance, auto maintenance, repairs, fuel, and other costs. Uber and Lyft drivers are classified as ‘independent contractors’ and have few rights or protections. According to MIT’s Stephen Zoepf: “This business model is not currently sustainable. The companies are losing money. The businesses are being subsidized by [venture capital] money… And the drivers are essentially subsidizing it by working for very low wages.”

HEALTHCARE

Apple is following the lead of Amazon, JP Morgan, and Berkshire Hathaway with a healthcare venture that will focus on serving its 120,000 employees and their families. The new company will be ‘technology enabled’ and include in-house clinics plus health services based in the Bay Area.

Uber has launched a new service that will enalbe hospital staff and doctors to book rides for their patients. About 100 hospitals and doctors’ offices have tested the new service, which does not require the patient to have a smartphone or the Uber app.

Microsoft has launched four new digital health projects: An Azure cloud blueprint focused on healthcare; Microsoft Genomics; a Microsoft Teams feature for healthcare providers; and Empower MD, an AI tool that assists doctors by listening in and learning from conversations they have with patients.

Flex — a $9.5 billion electronics manufacturer of components for products like those found in Sonos speakers and Nespresso coffee machines — has announced a new service that will use Google Cloud to connect medical devices with one another and the Internet.

WEARABLE TECH

Published images supposedly show Fitbit’s next smartwatch, which will reportedly be the same size as the Blaze fitness tracker (smaller than the Ionic smartwatch) and aimed at female consumers. CEO James Park has previously indicated that the company would launch a smartwatch with “mass appeal,” so this could be the direction the company takes in that regard. Speculation on features includes sleep apnea monitoring and an SpO2 sensor. However, it won’t have GPS.

HEALTH AND FITNESS

Professor Dame Sally Davies, the UK’s Chief Medical Officer has just published the ninth annual report on the health impacts of all pollution, which includes pollution caused by healthcare; pollution and health inequalities; new pollution issues; and measurement and communication of risks. Davies also tweeted: “Today I have published my annual report which examines how air, light and noise pollution could impact health, and how the NHS can lead the way by going green”.

The Light Phone 2 is now crowdfunding on Indiegogo. The phone doesn’t have apps and includes the following description: “By allowing you to leave behind your smartphone, it encourages you to spend quality time doing the things you love the most, free of distraction. We call this ‘going light’. The Light Phone 2 brings a few essential tools, like messaging and an alarm clock, so it’s even easier to ditch your smartphone more often, or for good. It’s a phone that actually respects you.”

During a recent Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session, Bill Gates stated that he felt cryptocurrencies are killing people in a ‘fairly direct way’. Gates explained that “The main feature of cryptocurrencies is their anonymity. I don’t think this is a good thing. The Government’s ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing. Right now cryptocurrencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way. I think the speculative wave around ICOs and crypto currencies is super risky for those who go long.”

GENOMICS

A new, laboratory-modified enzyme called xCas9 could make CRISPR gene-editing more versatile by working on more sites in the genome and result in fewer undesired effects.

FUNDING

DFJ Growth Fund has led a new $200 million series B round of funding in Helix, a provider of a marketplace for DNA tests.

Predible Health, which runs an AI-based cancer radiology platform, has raised an undisclosed amount from Unitus Seed Fund.

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FEATURED EVENTS

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.

Mobile in Clinical Trials Europe
May 15-16 in London, UK

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.

SUBMITTING AN EVENT
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
Founder, Digital Health group on LinkedIn
Creator, Story of Digital Health
Twitter: @Paul_Sonnier
San Diego, CA, USA

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