Making health personal through connected care

According to Radder, chronic patients take up 50 per cent of total healthcare costs in society; hence, Philips is looking at ways to stabilise these patients in a cost-effective place of care, i.e. their homes.

“This health continuum is a way to connect the dots; as IT is now a part of health and healthcare, there is an underlying infrastructure — data, software and algorithms — that enable us to make that connection as part of prevention and treatment,” says Radder.

The idea follows the establishment of a cloud-based infrastructure that collects patient’s vital data at different intervals from the comfort of their homes. The information contains certain criteria set by the attending physician that track and assist chronic patients to prevent health issues on time and preventing them from being in the ICU for long periods. An ideal example of this is Philips’ eCare Companion that helps stabilise the patients through intervention when required, thus ensuring a positive health status. At Arab Health, visitors will be introduced to the notion of HealthTech as well as view stateof-the-art innovations that are changing the face of healthcare. One example is the Philips Sonicare toothbrush. To raise awareness, notably among children, the patented-tech toothbrush includes an educational app that teaches them about the benefits of oral care and enable them to ensure they are brushing their teeth in the best manner possible.

“There is more scientific evidence now that unhealthy gums increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. For instance, it has been found that 20 per cent of brain tumours contain pathogens that come from the oral cavity,” says Radder. “We are trying to help leverage a relatively simple IT infrastructure within an app. It is data that you generate about yourself that will become a part of your personal lifestyle, if you choose to make it.”

Philips will also showcase sleep and respiratory care solutions that would benefit a number of patients suffering from issues such as asthma and sleep apnoea, to name a few. As poor sleeping habits are linked to cardiovascular diseases, its objective is to reduce risks as much as possible.

Another interesting device is the Minicare system that can indicate critical conditions, such as oncoming heart attacks, through a drop of blood. Raddar explains that it is about 10 times faster than conventional methods and lives up to Philips’ aim to provide accurate and speedy diagnosis at home.

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