Hi friends,
This week: Womenās health investment is on the up, tech and mental health collide (again), and what do people want politicians to do about healthcare?
Tired eyes? š Listen to the Healthtech Pigeon podcast ā”ļø Huw and Jess from SomX breakdown the best stories from this weekās newsletter, with help from Coulter Partnersā Ian Coyne. Available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
News Bites š„Ŗ
š Color Health taps OpenAI to generate screening plans for cancer patients ā They sure keep themselves busy over at OpenAI! They've teamed up with Color Health to utiliseāyep, you guessed itāartificial intelligence to improve patients' access to cancer care. Word on the street is they've developed a copilot app that leverages GPT-4 to identify missing diagnostics and create personalised care plans for patients.
š³ļø What do health tech leaders want from the general election campaign? ā For reasons that Pigeon canāt begin to fathom (isnāt everything working perfectly?) people have some strong feelings about what the next government should prioritise when it comes to NHS digital transformation. These leaders want to see movement on everything from investments in infrastructure to using tech to tackle waiting lists.
š® Future Health Index 2024 global report: Healthcare leaders turn to AI to address critical gaps in patient care ā Look, no oneās arguing that automation and AI could help address workforce challenges butā¦ wait, what do you mean they are arguing thatā¦? Ok, so thereās actually fairly significant variation in how enthusiastic people are about healthcare AI ā and those differences can depend on your role, where in the world youāre based, and how much money you have.
š§ Can Technology Help Us More Accurately Diagnose Mental Illnesses? ā Just for this week, weāre stepping away from the question of ācan AI be a therapistā, and considering the altogether more clear cut issue of diagnosis. After all, if tech can take a (data-driven) stab at physical conditions like Alzheimers, why shouldnāt it have a go at mental health too? Errā¦ Pigeon can think of a few reasonsā¦
š¤° How virtual reality transforms womenās labor experiences ā For those mothers going through childbirth and able to resist the instinct to tell that nurse approaching you with a meta quest to **** right off*, VR has been found to be a promising intervention that successfully reduces acute pain and anxiety ā making it an all-around effective non-pharmacological technique for pain management in labour. Move over, heat packs and water immersion.
š Freespira bets on slow and steady, amid spectacular digital health collapses ā The digital therapeutics market famously went a bit pear-shaped in 2023, and at the time, the question on everyoneās minds was: was it bad business models, or was something rotten in the state of DTxmark**? Freespiraās betting on the former, as it tries to do things right.
š Funding For Womenās Health: Unlocking The Power Of Women Investors ā Investment in womenās health is on the up, but challenges remain. Inadequate funding from VCs and limited partners persists, and weāre not going to lie, weāre disappointed. For growth to continue, diversity at the investment table could help to foster a more inclusive and impactful investment landscape.Ā
š° Better Health Raises $14M To Reach More Patients with Chronic Conditions ā Pigeon wouldnāt turn our beak up at an extra $14m. What weād do with it is a discussion for another day, but Better Health is using their recent cash injection to expand their offerings of peer coaching, education, and home delivery of medical supplies to patients with chronic wounds, diabetes, and many other conditions. Probably a better use of funds than what we had plannedā¦.
š Fierce Healthcare Fundraising TrackerāCanary Speech lands $13 M; Rock Health backs Marigold Health's series A ā End of life care, virtual addiction services and tech-enabled speech therapy are among the millions invested in US healthtech over the past few weeks ā Fierce Healthcareās running tracker has the lowdown.
What to listen to š
Events š
Pathfinder Womenās Health Summit
š£ Jun 26
š Birmingham
HPN South
š£ Jun 27 -28
š Heathrow
SomX Comms 102: Fundraising Essentials
š£ Jul 11
š Online
BIA Summer Party 2024
š£ Jul 11
š London
AI in the NHS: Shaping the future of healthcare - The Health Foundation
š£ Jul 18
š Online
Visit the SomX events page or subscribe to SomXās events roundup to see all of the best upcoming healthtech, biotech and healthcare events
Opportunities šµļøāāļø
Be a part of a study: What kind of person builds a digital health startup? ā Some people think anyone who would build a company working in the digital health space must be crazy. Others take a more scientific approach: Coulter Partnersā Ian Coyne has published his study of 50 founders to find out their strengths, weaknesses, and what makes them ā¦.*ahem* unique. Now heās looking for more subjectsā¦
š¢ Business Development Executive, TORTUS ā Passionate about making a long-lasting positive impact in healthcare? Know how to build and nurture relationships with clients? Have a knack for sales? You answered yes, Pigeon may just have a role youāll be interested inā¦
š§āš» User Support Specialist, Accurx ā This is a role for the best communicators out there! Youāll be the first point of contact for Accurx users, providing responsive, effective, and friendly support. Not only that, everyone will look to you to keep your eyes peeled on ways to further improve user support. Big shoes to fill! Are you up for the challenge?
š Operations Support Manager, HeliosX Group ā This opportunity is for someone who can run a tight ship! HeliosX Group is on the hunt for someone who can dive into their current processes, provide insights for improvement opportunities, and understand upcoming projects to ensure seamless integration into operations. Sounds like you? You know what to do!
šØ Senior Product Designer, DrDoctor ā Pigeon admires someone with an eye for detail! Creating usable, informative, and aesthetically pleasing interface designs isn't easy, but someone has to do it! If you're someone who can effortlessly craft the best possible experiences and outcomes for users, this Senior Product Designer role might just be the one for you!Ā
*Flap. Flap right off. Why, what did you think we meant?
**Pigeon is, as far as we know, the only publication to make healthtech-related puns about Shakespeare, Cypress Hill and 1970s science fiction in a six week period. Say what you like about Pigeon (and people do!), but you canāt deny weāve got range.
Got news, jobs or events you think is worth coo-ing over? Let us know! Email us: news@healthtechpigeon.com
SomX is a communications and creative agency for healthcare. We are clinicians, scientists, creatives and communicators dedicated to serving our healthtech, biotech, pharma and public sector clients with services across strategy, content, PR, design, events and media production. Get in touch to learn more.