Headspace Health, the provider of the world’s most comprehensive digital mental health platform, announced the expansion of its care services for organizations headquartered outside of the U.S. Starting with the U.K. this month, Headspace Health now brings together Headspace’s world-class meditation and mindfulness offering with on-demand coaching, therapy and EAP services to provide a single mental health solution that reduces complexity, administrative burden and cost for employers. The company plans to extend these services into additional markets throughout 2023.

The pandemic and global economic pressures have exacerbated the mental health crisis around the world with employees increasingly looking to their employers for support. A recent U.K. Corporate Mental Health Benchmark Report by CCLA revealed 93 out of 100 companies assessed acknowledge workplace mental health as an important business issue. While employee mental health support is an increasing topic of significance on company agendas, more work is required in this area to enact real change. A recent Headspace Health study revealed that one in three British workers feel their employer isn’t doing enough to support their mental health, and over half (63%) admit they missed at least one day of work over a 12 month period due to stress, anxiety, or other mental health challenges.

The Headspace Health stepped-care approach is designed with an emphasis on prevention, providing employees with the ability to increase or decrease the level of support they need as individual needs change over time. The end-to-end offering includes:

• Self-Guided Care: On-demand, self-guided activities through the Headspace app to build proactive skills and enhance everyday wellbeing. Employees can access more than 1,000 hours of mindfulness content from evidence-based guided meditations, eyes-open exercises like mindful walks and runs, breathing and wind-down exercises, focus music, sleep content and more.
• Behavioral Health Coaching: Unlimited 24/7 access to a team of highly-trained Headspace Health behavioral health coaches to build coping skills and manage day-to-day stressors related to general wellness, work, family and relationships, among others. Coaching is delivered via text with a market-leading response time – within two minutes – so employees can access the support they need in real time.
• Therapy: High-quality clinical care delivered by video, phone or in person by licensed therapists trained in a range of clinical specialties and evidence-based treatments, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Employees are able to request a therapist based on their personal preferences once they reach out for clinical support.
• EAP Services: In addition to the above framework, a dedicated EAP account specialist can ensure employees have access to support for issues ranging from eldercare and childcare to financial and legal support.

“We’re creating the mental health solution you’d design if you were creating the system from scratch,” said Russell Glass, CEO of Headspace Health. “People know and love Headspace, so it creates an approachable, engaging front door for individuals who can then access higher levels of care as needs arise. Expanding this complete capability into the U.K. today constitutes a major milestone in our journey toward transforming mental healthcare to improve the health and happiness of the world.”

Dr. Dana Udall, Ph.D., chief clinical officer of Headspace Health, added, “Having pioneered this integrated offering in the U.S., we are thrilled to deliver a full-suite solution to organizations internationally. Of the existing Headspace Health members using our stepped-care model, 80% have their needs fully met via coaching and content alone, with an average 4.85/5 satisfaction with our coaches and clinical care providers. Our studies show that using more cost-effective forms of care in accessible environments delivers similar levels of improvement while reserving clinical capacity for those who truly need it.”

Sandoz Egypt Pharma and Ibnsina Pharma have announced a distribution and promotion agreement for the Sandoz over-the-counter (OTC) portfolio of products, strengthening the company’s commitment to widening access to products, with the help of Ibnsina’s expansive nationwide network. The broad outlines of the agreement amplify both companies’ efforts to reach a higher number of underserved patients.

Sameh Elbagoury, General Manager at Sandoz Egypt and Libya, said: “OTC products are vital to advancing healthcare, and our partnership with a true market leader like Ibn Sina is an important step, catalyzing our ability on-ground to live up to our relentless commitment to improving access. Our OTC portfolio in Egypt currently spans eight products and we have concrete plans to expand, transforming it into one of our strategic pillars, alongside our generic and biosimilar drug portfolios.”

“By allowing people to recover from minor conditions like the common cold, allergies, minor pains and others, OTC products not only help people get back to enjoying their day-to-day lives faster, but they also help relieve the burden on the average citizen suffering from minimal symptoms, as well as on the healthcare system by aiding faster recovery and reducing the need for people to visit treatment facilities. In effect, OTC products are an indispensable part of the equation towards improved access to healthcare. Another important element of this partnership is knowledge-sharing and education, as it allows us to share the latest advances and scientific breakthroughs with pharmacist networks – the first and main point of contact for patients and consumers, ensuring that they remain at the forefront of the quest for science-driven health outcomes.” added El Bagoury.

Mahmoud Abdel Gawad, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Ibnsina Pharma, said, “Our partnership with a recognized global leader like Sandoz is a testament that Ibnsina Pharma is the distributor of choice. The partnership will also boost our efforts to bring products to everyone in need, wherever they are. Ibnsina Pharma is the fastest-growing and second-largest pharmaceutical distributor in Egypt, with the capacity to efficiently deliver products to a large number of patients and consumers, leveraging innovative digital solutions to optimize performance.”

“Our combined knowledge, expertise, and assets are definitive to helping us address coverage gaps across Egypt and achieving a breakthrough in access so that affordable, high-quality products are accessible and within easy reach. This agreement enables us to strengthen our position in the area of OTC products, helping us reach out to more pharmacists, and allowing us to optimize accessibility to non-prescription products for patients. We are proud of the network we have established which allows us to supply pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to more than 49,000 private and public-sector customers including pharmacies, hospitals, wholesalers, and health institutions, using a fleet of around 830 vehicles,” added Abdel Gawad.

Sandoz launched its OTC portfolio in Egypt in early 2022, offering non-prescription products covering a variety of therapeutic areas including gastrointestinal diseases, pain management, respiratory conditions and pediatric vitamins and supplements. While ultimately bolstering access to products and bringing value to the healthcare system, this partnership combines both companies’ unique expertise to advance pharmacists’ up-to-date knowledge and provide them with science-based information that allows them to strengthen value-based relationships with their customers.

Strados Labs announced a collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to remotely monitor patients using its FDA-cleared pulmonary wearable device in an upcoming idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) pilot study. In Boehringer Ingelheim’s pilot study, the Strados RESP Biosensor will be used to monitor cough and crackles in IPF patients at home aiming to accelerate the development of much needed new therapies for people living with IPF.

Research has suggested that cough may be associated with worse outcomes in pulmonary fibrosis. Boehringer Ingelheim will assess how monitoring cough and crackles with the RESP Biosensor can be used to monitor the status of patients with this disease, with the aim of advancing clinical research and the development of next therapies to transform the lives of people with pulmonary fibrosis.

“Currently, disease progression in IPF is measured by a decline in forced vital capacity (FVC).” Says Strados Labs CEO & Cofounder Nick Delmonico. “We are thrilled to help Boehringer Ingelheim explore cough and crackles as an additional method to monitor disease while allowing patients to stay in the comfort of their homes.”

The RESP Biosensor is a lightweight, non-invasive wearable device that is used in clinical trials to monitor cough frequency, severity, and type along with wheezing and other abnormal sounds. The device is also used for remote monitoring in healthcare to address the problem of patient readmissions associated with COPD, asthma, and other cardiopulmonary diseases.

Blackford, the pioneering strategic imaging AI platform and solutions provider, and Brainomix, the AI-powered medtech solutions company, have announced a strategic partnership to bring Brainomix’s comprehensive e-Stroke solution to the Blackford Platform, making advanced stroke care available to more institutions around the world.

According to the World Stroke Organization, there are over 12.2 million new strokes each year. In more rural areas, access to advanced imaging may be limited, which can have a negative impact on stroke diagnosis and treatment. Brainomix’s e-Stroke AI tools can generate real-time interpretation of more widely available non-contrast CT exams, expanding access to life-saving stroke treatments.

“Timely diagnosis and treatment of stroke should not be limited to urban areas and comprehensive stroke centers,” said Blackford Founder and CEO Ben Panter. “Adding Brainomix’s AI-powered e-Stroke to the Blackford Platform allows more institutions around the world to accelerate transfer and treatment times and expand access to critical endovascular therapy for their patients.”

Brainomix’s AI-powered e-Stroke tools can utilize images from non-contrast or contrast enhanced CT exams to provide physicians fast, effective, and accurate analysis of images that expedite treatment decisions. Combined with the e-Stroke Mobile app, physicians can quickly and securely access, review, and share patient images and data to optimize workflow and facilitate faster transfer and treatment decisions.

“We are very excited to launch this partnership with Blackford – a company that has firmly established itself as a leading provider of tailored best-in-class medical imaging and AI-powered solutions that deliver clinical value, with an extensive customer base and a highly regarded focus on technical excellence,” said Dr Michalis Papadakis, CEO & co-founder at Brainomix. “With our e-Stroke platform, we believe that we have the opportunity to work together to provide physicians with the most comprehensive stroke AI imaging solution, shown to optimize networks and ultimately improve patient outcomes.”

Sysnav Healthcare has developed medical grade wearables based on magneto-inertial technology for 3D movement reconstruction. This enables precise movement tracking without GPS, thus protecting patient privacy while enabling indoor monitoring.

Sysnav Healthcare and Roche have expanded their collaboration across multiple programs to develop meaningful digital endpoints that will monitor disease progression, support clinical trials and serve as regulatory approved standards of outcome measurement. The partnership will also develop the next generation wearable technology to further promote personalised healthcare.

“When high precision technology meets clinical expertise, it is a game-changing combination to accelerate medical progress. Bringing together Sysnav’s digital health technology and Roche’s expertise in neuroscience drug development and personalised healthcare will enable us to have a truly meaningful impact on patients with motor impairments. By establishing a new set of industry standards for the evaluation of motor impairments, we can unlock innovation for the benefit of all patients,” says Damien Eggenspieler, Sysnav Healthcare Program Director.

Imricor Medical Systems, Inc. Imricor, the global leader in real-time interventional cardiac magnetic resonance (iCMR) ablation products, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GE HealthCare.

Under the terms of the MOU, GE HealthCare and Imricor intend to collaborate to interface Imricor’s Advantage-MR EP Recorder/Stimulator and Northstar-MR 3D Mapping System with GE HealthCare MRI scanners. A successful collaboration will enable cardiac electrophysiology (EP) ablation procedures guided by real-time MRI, using Imricor’s catheters and other disposable devices, to be performed on the GE HealthCare MRI platform. The collaboration with GE HealthCare would expand Imricor’s potential to interface with GE HealthCare’s new and currently installed MRI scanners.

Imricor’s short-term goal is to allow sites with GE HealthCare MRI systems to participate in the upcoming “Vision-MR Ablation of Atrial FLutter” or VISABL-AFL clinical trial in the US and “Vision-MR Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia” or VISABL-VT clinical trial in Europe. The Company’s overall goal is to broaden in the choices physicians and hospitals have when choosing an MRI platform for their iCMR labs.

“Imricor’s innovative technology has the potential to bring significant benefit to a large number of cardiac arrhythmia patients,” said Anja Brau, PhD, General Manager, GE HealthCare MR Clinical Solutions and Research Collaborations. “GE HealthCare has a long-standing history of applying MR to therapy guidance and control; we would be pleased to add Imricor’s capabilities to provide our customers with more options to treat their patients.”

“We are thrilled at the prospect of expanding the portfolio of MRI scanners that support Advantage-MR and Northstar-MR technology,” said Steve Wedan, Imricor’s CEO and Chair. “The addition of GE HealthCare will give physicians and hospitals significantly more flexibility to use the MRI hardware of their choice, when providing real-time iCMR ablations for their patients. We are grateful to our existing customers who have embraced our real-time iCMR ablation technology, and look forward to making the benefits of this technology even more widely available.”

Masimo announced the limited market release of Visual Clinical Activity Monitoring, a video analysis system that uses artificial intelligence to help facilitate compliance with hospital hand hygiene protocols. VCAM, which integrates seamlessly with the Masimo Hospital Automation™ platform of solutions, including Masimo Patient SafetyNet™, Replica®, and Root®, is designed to help hospitals and other care facilities optimize protocol adherence, with real-time notifications at the point-of-care about current hand hygiene status and powerful analytics around protocol compliance – with the ultimate goal of helping institutions decrease the incidence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).

Hand hygiene is well known to be an important factor in infection control activities, with numerous studies showing that washing one’s hands is the “single most important, simplest, and least expensive means of reducing the prevalence of HAIs and the spread of antimicrobial resistance.”1 A recently published study conducted across multiple sites over eight years in Finland, for example, found a direct correlation between increased compliance with hand hygiene protocols and decreased incidence of HAIs.2 However, in the absence of “active” hand hygiene initiatives – programs, for example, designed to measure and automate compliance – the compliance rate with such protocols rarely exceeds 40% in hospitals and other healthcare institutions.1

Masimo VCAM, powered by Masimo’s expertise in AI-enabled algorithms and based on each facility’s standards, makes it easier for hospitals to optimize staff adherence to hand hygiene protocols by providing notifications on the spot, tracking compliance, and automating reporting. VCAM detects when clinicians are performing hygiene activities, such as washing hands or using an alcohol-based sanitizer, and identifies when they interact with people and objects, as well as when they touch or pick up an object from a potentially unclean surface such as the floor. Immediate notifications about current hygiene status are relayed to individual clinicians on bedside Root monitors and on Replica-equipped smartphones, prompting them, for example, to wash or sanitize their hands when they may have neglected to do so. In turn, VCAM’s rich reporting capabilities provide detailed analysis, such as the rates of clean vs. dirty incidents (which can be filtered by room and by department), helping leadership target opportunities for workflow improvements.

Vijay Dhar, MD, Chief of Neonatology at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), California, said, “We, at CHOC, are eagerly anticipating the deployment of Masimo VCAM, the innovative artificial intelligence (AI) system that can characterize hand hygiene compliance. We hope VCAM will be able to help us to decrease hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), including viral pathogens such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), bacterial organisms such as MRSA, and other nosocomial organisms responsible for central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSI), the most common form of nosocomial infection affecting neonates. With Masimo VCAM helping us maintain hand hygiene, we aim to diminish these totally preventable HAIs and improve the safety and wellbeing of our neonates.”

Joe Kiani, Founder and CEO of Masimo, said, “VCAM adds an important new tool to the growing Masimo ecosystem of Hospital Automation products, building on our experience developing breakthrough algorithms and next-generation connectivity solutions, to help streamline hospitals’ ability to meet compliance goals with as fundamental and critical a task as hand-washing. VCAM aligns with our continued mission to improve patient outcomes, reduce the cost of care, and ultimately, improve life.”