Royal Philips , a global leader in health technology, and Masimo, a global medical technology company, today announced an expansion of their partnership to augment patient monitoring capabilities in home telehealth applications with the Masimo W1™ advanced health tracking watch. The W1 will integrate with Philips’s enterprise patient monitoring ecosystem to advance the forefront of telemonitoring and telehealth. The combined innovation, which draws upon the two global medical technology leaders’ extensive expertise in monitoring, connectivity, and automation, will be highlighted later this month at Arab Health 2023.

Masimo W1 is the first watch to offer accurate, continuous pulse oximetry measurements and other insightful health data. Using Masimo’s secure health data cloud, patient information will be relayed to the Philips patient monitoring ecosystem for remote clinician surveillance. Hospital clinicians will be able to seamlessly and remotely monitor key health markers as their patients move throughout their homes and go about their daily lives. Physicians will be able to more confidently discharge patients knowing that their vital signs will still be monitored (via Masimo W1) and their physiological status tracked (via Philips dashboards), helping them catch possible patient deterioration sooner and make more informed interventions. This breakthrough combination of monitoring and connectivity technologies will enable numerous opportunities supporting early discharge initiatives, hospital-at-home programs, and chronic illness management.

Bilal Muhsin, Chief Operating Officer of Masimo Healthcare, said, “Expanding our partnership with Philips in this way is a win-win for patients and clinicians everywhere, and is an important part of our multi-year plan to bring the best of hospital monitoring to the home while continuing to improve access to quality hospital care.”

Fujitsu and Sapporo Medical University announced the launch of a joint project starting in April 2023 to realize data portability  for patients’ healthcare data including electronic health records (EHRs)  and personal health records (PHRs).

As part of the joint project, Fujitsu will develop a mobile app that enables users to view healthcare data on their iPhones and a cloud-based healthcare data platform to manage patients’ health data. This project marks the first initiative in Japan to link electronic medical records with Apple’s Health app under Apple’s support.

EHR data stored on the newly developed external healthcare data platform will be converted to a format in accordance with JP Core (FHIR JP Core Implementation Guide Version 1.1.1) , the latest Japanese guideline under the next generation standards framework HL7 FHIR for health information exchange.

By empowering patients to access their medical data from anywhere at any time and play a more active role in managing their own health, the project aims to contribute to the provision of optimal medical care and services tailored to the health conditions of individual patients while simultaneously improving patient engagement .

Sapporo Medical University Hospital, the affiliated hospital of Sapporo Medical University, aims to introduce the system in April 2023.

Background

Japan currently faces increasing demographic pressures as it confronts the challenges posed by one of the oldest populations in the world. In addition to medical services, the usage of medical health data in patients’ individual health management represents an important issue both for patients and their families. To enable patients as well as medical providers to more easily manage medical data, many countries world-wide are implementing national standards under the HL7 FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource) framework designed to enable the rapid exchange of healthcare-related information, including medical records and other patient data. Many of these initiatives also increasingly promote the use of smartphone apps for health management.

In Japan, however, the scope of use of EHRs and other schemes that allow patients to manage health data on mobiles devices remains limited. To this end, in recent years the Japanese government and relevant ministries started to examine measures ⁽⁷⁾ to implement a framework whereby patients can manage both EHRs issued by medical institutions and their own vital data by themselves.

Fujitsu, which has been working to standardize EHRs and develop secure cloud technologies, and Sapporo Medical University, which has been working to improve the quality of advanced medical care in the Hokkaido area, launched a joint project using healthcare data at Sapporo Medical University Hospital to realize data portability in the healthcare field.

About the joint project

1. Overview

As part of their collaboration, Fujitsu and Sapporo Medical University aim to develop a cloud-based healthcare data platform to manage patient data and a system that enables patients to view their personal health information such as EHRs from anywhere at any time on their smartphones.

By storing patients’ EHRs and vital data on the healthcare data platform and providing access to the data, Sapporo Medical University Hospital aims to improve the quality of medical services based on a detailed understanding of patients’ health conditions.
Fujitsu will develop a smartphone app to access JP Core-compliant cloud-based EHRs issued by Sapporo Medical University Hospital, as well as a cloud-based healthcare data platform to manage patient data. On the app, patients will be able to choose whether they want to store their data externally and to decide about the scope of usage of their personal and healthcare data. In accordance with patients’ consent settings, Fujitsu will store information from patients’ EHRs and vital data measured by their iPhones or Apple Watches ⁽⁴⁾ in a healthcare data base.
Fujitsu will develop the new app using Apple’s “HealthKit”  framework and will receive Apple’s technical support within this initiative.

Using the new system, patients will be able to check past medical information they received from hospitals, including test results and medication prescriptions on the app as part of their individual health management.

2. Roles and responsibilities

Fujitsu

• Construction of a scheme to convert medical data into HL7 FHIR format
• Development and provision of smartphone app for patients to view EHRs
• Establishment of a system for consent acquisition and management that enables patients to decide about the use of their healthcare data
• Provision of healthcare data platform to manage EHRs, vital data, and other data

Sapporo Medical University Hospital

• Assistance in development of system to convert medical data into HL7 FHIR format
• Support of system design during app development from medical field viewpoint
• Improvement of the quality of healthcare through the use of healthcare data in clinical practice
• Examination of a new regional healthcare model using a healthcare data platform
• Supervision of system design and operation of the new system in the hospital
• Promotion of the new app to patients

Future Plans

Moving forward, Fujitsu and Sapporo Medical University will examine additional ways to further utilize healthcare data and realize data portability, and plan to draw on data from multiple medical institutions to build a framework for advanced regional medical cooperation with medical institutions in Hokkaido in Japan.

Sapporo Medical University Hospital will promote the development of an environment for the utilization of healthcare data in clinical practice. As a core hospital for regional medical care in Hokkaido, it will further expand data collaboration among hospitals in Hokkaido and promote the provision of advanced medical care tailored to each patient based on more detailed PHRs. Sapporo Medical University further plans to use individual patients’ healthcare data in R&D of AI technology for diabetes treatment at its facilities and AI research previously conducted using EHRs. Sapporo Medical University anticipates that patients’ healthcare data (collected with patients’ consensus) can in future be used as useful information for selecting appropriate health treatments.

Fujitsu aims to provide comprehensive, personalized healthcare by combining a wide range of healthcare data with the latest digital technologies. Fujitsu will continue to promote “Healthy Living,” one of its key focus areas under its global business brand Fujitsu Uvance, to help create a world that enriches the life experience of everyone.

PENTAX Medical, a division of HOYA Group, has obtained CE marks for two of its latest innovations; PENTAX Medical INSPIRA™, the new premium video processor, and the i20c video endoscope series. Developed with a focus on healthcare provider’s needs, the new video processor maintains compatibility with PENTAX Medical’s recent endoscope models[1], and sets new standards in combination with the new i20c video endoscope generation.

Optimum image quality

PENTAX Medical INSPIRATM video processor delivers striking image quality with any PENTAX Medical endoscope[2]. Compatible with two connection types, it allows for upgrading the legacy endoscopy portfolio[1] to the latest imaging standards. As a result, the image quality of current endoscope generations meets high-class clinical needs, for an extended duration of time. This smart feature thus extends the lifecycle of each endoscope for greater sustainability, while continuing to meet the highest standards of modern imaging and visualization.

Enhanced user experience

PENTAX Medical INSPIRATM video processor was developed with a focus on healthcare providers’ needs. It combines cutting-edge functionalities in one plug-and-play solution with intuitive usability. The video processor is controlled via a customisable, state-of-the-art touch panel, equipped with innovative image enhancement functionalities and 4K image processing. This ultimately enables physicians to focus on what is really important; achieving optimal clinical outcomes.

Next generation endoscopes with superior ergonomics

The i20c generation of endoscopes is designed with superior ergonomics for healthcare professionals and exceptional imaging for the highest quality of procedures. Physicians instantly benefit from outstanding manoeuvrability, angulation and handling, combined with further improved vision. The unique control body and light-weight connector of the i20c video endoscopes are designed to further optimize the endoscopic workflow.

Rainer Burkard, Global President at PENTAX Medical, comments: “PENTAX Medical INSPIRATM video processor not only upgrades legacy instruments’ imaging capabilities, in combination with our new i20c endoscope generation, it is a milestone for endoscopy. In line with our commitment to continually innovate products, this cutting-edge solution provides a future-proof platform and we are proud of the ground-breaking image quality it brings.”

Nihon Kohden America, Inc., a U.S. market leader in precision medical products and services, is happy to introduce CoMET (Continuous Monitoring of Event Trajectories), a tool that can provide an early indication of future risk of catastrophic clinical events. Nihon Kohden acquired CoMET technology through its acquisition of AMP3D (Advanced Medical Predictive Devices, Diagnostics and Displays, Inc.) last year. CoMET can predict the potential for future risk of critical clinical events including, but not limited to, sepsis, hemorrhage, cardiogenic shock, respiratory failure, and emergent intubation.

CoMET’s event trajectories provide clinicians with a visual tool for identifying potential patient deterioration, monitoring treatment efficacy, assessing patient acuity, and managing appropriate staffing ratios. Relative risk for critical events is determined by applying unit population-specific models. These models are developed through machine learning and make predictions using time series of patient lab values, vital signs, electronic health record data, and continuous waveforms.

“We understand the growing challenges in hospitals and are committed to providing innovative solutions to empower clinicians and support exceptional patient care. Developing CoMET directly supports proactive decision-making for our healthcare guardians and the sustainability of better outcomes.” – Eiichi Tanaka, President & CEO for Nihon Kohden America, Inc.

CoMET assists real-time decisions for management and stabilization of patients by continuously monitoring data to detect subtle physiological changes. The Artificial Intelligence tool can also rank patients according to predicted risk of severe illness and display trajectories of deterioration and recovery.

CoMET was developed by clinicians, including the co-founder of the HeRO® score, with over 100 terabytes of monitoring and waveform data and nearly 100 peer-reviewed publications.

The functionality and integration capabilities of CoMET support Nihon Kohden’s on-going mission to benefit all. Beyond the world’s first pulse oximeter, Nihon Kohden leverages its 70-year heritage to set the bar high, with industry-changing innovation for experts by experts.

Foundation Medicine, Inc., a pioneer in molecular profiling for cancer, announced a global collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop the company’s tissue-based comprehensive genomic profiling test, FoundationOne®CDx, as a companion diagnostic for Boehringer Ingelheim’s investigational MDM2-p53 antagonist, BI 907828, in the United States, Japan and European Union.

BI 907828 is an investigational, oral, small molecule MDM2-p53 antagonist. It is currently being evaluated as monotherapy in Brightline-2 (NCT05512377), an ongoing Phase IIa/IIb, open-label, single-arm, multi-center trial for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic, MDM2 amplified, TP53 wild-type biliary tract cancer in patients who have progressed on standard of care therapy.

“Biliary tract cancers are rare and aggressive cancers and those impacted have limited treatment options along with poor prognosis,” said Francesco di Marco, Senior Vice President, Head of Therapeutic Area Oncology, Boehringer Ingelheim. “At Boehringer Ingelheim, we take a diligent and broad approach in some of the most difficult, but potentially most impactful, areas of cancer. Foundation Medicine’s deep understanding of cancer biology and regulatory process makes them an ideal partner for us as we further investigate the role of the MDM2-p53 pathway in cancer development. Our hope is that through this collaboration, we will be able to address the challenges these patients continue to face.”

Comprehensive genomic profiling is emerging as an important tool in the treatment of biliary tract cancer given the rapidly evolving therapeutic landscape in this disease area.1 Foundation Medicine has the only FDA-approved portfolio of comprehensive genomic profiling tests, offering physicians both blood- and tissue-based testing options for detecting genomic alterations that help guide personalized treatment decisions.

“High quality, well-validated genomic testing is critical to identify biliary tract cancer patients with complex alterations like MDM2 amplifications,” said Sanket Agrawal, Chief Biopharma Business Officer, Foundation Medicine. “We’re proud to partner with Boehringer Ingelheim as they advance this investigational therapy and if approved, create access to it through companion diagnostic development.”