HEALTHCARE ANALYTICS
PRNewswire | May 09, 2023
A new health care sector collaboration in Denmark will evaluate the feasibility of recycling used blood collection tubes to reduce medical waste as part of the participants' sustainability goals and Denmark's Climate Action Strategy.
The pilot program is a collaboration among BD Odense University Hospital, the Health Innovation Centre of Southern Denmark, Danish Technological Institute, and GMAF Circular Medico/EcoFitt that will occur at the Odense University Hospital in Odense, Denmark.
The initiative models a circular economy, which reduces material use, redesigns materials, products and services to be less resource intensive, and recaptures waste as a resource to manufacture new materials and products.i The collaboration is part of a broader effort to further progress toward Denmark's Climate Action Strategy, which aims to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent in 2030 compared to 1990 levels.ii
"Hospitals in Denmark are an active participant in the country's green agenda, and knowing that blood collection tubes are one of health care's most commonly used products, we saw an opportunity to explore a solution that would allow for these tubes to be recycled," said Mads Nybo, chief physician of the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at Odense University Hospital.
Amit Limaye, director of the BD Sustainable Medical Technology Institute said, "BD is the world's largest manufacturer of evacuated blood collection tubes and, as part of our 2030+ environmental, social and governance goals, we are focused on reducing the environmental impact of our product portfolio. This partnership and program are a great example of like-minded stakeholders coming together to drive progress toward a greener, more sustainable health care system, because success cannot be accomplished by any one stakeholder alone."
Used blood collection tubes are often considered a biohazardous and regulated medical waste, and in Denmark, they are currently disposed via incineration. This initiative will investigate steps involved in recycling the plastic tubes, which are made of very high-quality raw materials. Ensuring safety and proper hygiene, followed by recycling and evaluating the quality of the plastic obtained are key focus areas of the pilot. The program is currently in an evaluation phase to establish basic technical feasibility and will move to the next phase later this year, with an ultimate goal of demonstrating reuse of plastics used in manufacturing blood collection tubes.
The pilot is being showcased at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen on May 9, 2023, as one of five selected projects that address how hospitals can call attention, resources and action to sustainability challenges being faced by the health care sector.
About BD
BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 77,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care.
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DIGITAL HEALTHCARE, MEDICAL DEVICES
Prnewswire | April 05, 2023
Penumbra, Inc. a global healthcare company focused on innovative therapies, announced that it will collaborate with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL) to test, co-develop and implement rehabilitative health care solutions through virtual reality (VR).
"VHA is one of the most impactful and forward-thinking innovators in healthcare, constantly promoting discovery and adoption of the latest technologies to advance care delivery and service," said Gita Barry, president of Penumbra's Immersive Healthcare business. "It is a great honor to work with the VHA on such an important initiative to not only maximize the key benefits of rehabilitation therapy with virtual reality, but to also broadly implement these tools so veterans, whether at a VA facility or in a remote location, will have access to these offerings."
Building on Penumbra's REAL y-Series technology, the collaboration will focus on developing targeted therapy tools that address the most critical rehabilitation needs of veterans, increasing access to care by scaling VR solutions to remote areas and gaining a deep understanding of their needs to help inform future health care offerings. REAL y-Series is the only hands-free, non-tethered, multi-disciplinary VR rehabilitation platform to address high acuity to high functioning patients.
These solutions will largely be used for veteran neurorehabilitation and chronic condition management. Additionally, VHA OHIL will be able to further adopt and scale new technologies for remote therapeutic rehabilitation, remote therapeutic monitoring, and remote patient management as this solution will support asynchronous patient-provider interactions.
The REAL y-Series is currently being used in clinics and hospitals across the country to address physical rehabilitation, core and balance, cognition, functional uses, and activities of daily living.
About the REAL Immersive System Platform
Penumbra's REAL Immersive System is a platform of products that leverages virtual reality to deliver engaging, immersive healthcare designed to promote better health, including furthering functional skills, cognition and stress management. Built on advanced technology with a growing library of VR-based activities and experiences, the REAL Immersive System platform is comprised of two product solutions: REAL y-Series for clinical rehabilitation and REAL i-Series for wellness.
About Penumbra
Penumbra, Inc., headquartered in Alameda, California, is a global healthcare company focused on innovative therapies. Penumbra designs, develops, manufactures and markets novel products and has a broad portfolio that addresses challenging medical conditions in markets with significant unmet need. Penumbra supports healthcare providers, hospitals and clinics in more than 100 countries.
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DIGITAL HEALTHCARE, MEDICAL DEVICES
WELL Health Technologies Corp. | April 27, 2023
WELL Ventures a subsidiary of WELL Health Technologies Corp. a digital healthcare company focused on positively impacting health outcomes by leveraging technology to empower healthcare practitioners and their patients globally, is pleased to announce the launch of a new investment program, The WELL AI Investment Program, focused on artificial intelligence ("AI") and its applications in helping support healthcare providers with next generation tools .
The WELL AI Investment Program will focus on early-stage AI companies who demonstrate promising innovation, and a clear focus on using AI technologies that can help healthcare providers with innovative tools or applications designed to improve their efficiency, accuracy and ultimately help them deliver better patient outcomes. Data protection and cybersecurity applications will also be considered as this is a key part of WELL's practitioner enablement platform.
"The prevalence of AI technology in healthcare will usher in perhaps the most transformational technologies we've ever seen in terms of supplying and supporting healthcare providers with tools that help improve the accuracy, efficiency and proactivity of care while also delivering significantly better patient outcomes," said Hamed Shahbazi, Founder and CEO of WELL Health Technologies. "WELL wants to ensure that it is at the forefront of this movement, not just as a developer and user of AI, but also as a partner to other innovative companies seeking to advance the health technology industry. What makes The WELL AI Investment Program unique, besides being the first healthcare centric AI investment program in Canada, is that WELL is not just looking to provide capital but also leverage its own products, distribution and significant size and scale to help advance the proliferation of the best AI inspired health focussed technologies. "
The WELL AI Investment Program will provide investees with capital as well as extensive support from WELL's ecosystem to help develop, test, refine, secure, de-risk and integrate the most promising such technologies into the Canadian healthcare ecosystem at scale. Additionally, WELL will provide investees access to the 23,000+ care providers who make use of its apps.health ecosystem, operated by its Provider Solutions Business Unit.
In recognition of WELL's longstanding work with Canada Health Infoway, an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government, Infoway will collaborate with WELL on advancing interoperability as part of the WELL AI investment Program in Canadian start-ups. Infoway will provide guidance on security, privacy, interoperability, and other data standards. This partnership will ensure that resulting products and services meet pan-Canadian standards and can effectively serve the needs of providers and patients.
WELL's aims to achieve the following through the investment program
Make a minimum of 10 AI related investments of at least $250k each in companies that are advancing healthcare applications and/or protecting data.
Ensure that each Investee has a strategic alliance agreement with WELL that allows it to benefit from WELL's healthcare ecosystem which includes.
Its apps.health ecosystem, which is Canada's only app marketplace for integrated EMR apps, and/or
access to the 23,000+ provider network supported by WELL's digital and services tools and the 2,800+ providers working internally in WELL's own patient services businesses.
WELL Ventures is already fully funded for making these investments directly from WELL's overall treasury position. While there is no defined timeline for these investments, it is WELL's intention to make a number of these investments in 2023.
WELL is a leader in tech-enabling Canadian healthcare, and through WELL Ventures, WELL has already placed numerous investments in early-stage companies focussed on providing tools and enablement (including AI) for healthcare providers in Canada, the US, and abroad.
About WELL Health Technologies
WELL is a practitioner-focused digital healthcare company. WELL's overarching mission is to positively impact health outcomes by leveraging technology to empower healthcare practitioners and their patients globally. WELL exists to enable healthcare practitioners with best-in-class technology and services. WELL has built the most comprehensive end-to-end healthcare system across Canada including the nation's largest network of clinics supporting primary care, specialized care, and diagnostics services. In the United States, WELL provides omni-channel healthcare services and solutions targeting specialized markets such as the gastrointestinal market, women's health, primary care, and mental disorders. In addition to providing patient services, WELL develops, integrates, and sells its own suite of technology software and solutions to medical clinics and healthcare practitioners. WELL's practitioner enablement platform includes: Electronic Medical Records ("EMR"), telehealth platforms, practice management, billing, Revenue Cycle Management digital health apps and data protection solutions.
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