The Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust has tapped Healthy.io for a new program that will allow kidney patients to take home urine tests, using their smartphone cameras and digital testing kits. The test results will then be automatically electronically delivered to physicians.

“This is great news for patients with kidney conditions and we’re really excited to be the first NHS organization to be trying out this smartphone camera testing. We’re hoping this will not only make it easier for patients but, will empower them to share responsibility for their overall health,” Dr. Jim Ritchie, consultant kidney physician at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, said in a statement.

Tel Aviv, Israel-based Healthy.io uses computer vision and machine learning to turn the smartphone camera into a medical device. Their app is CE-certified, but still awaiting FDA clearance.

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Healthcare communications platform Spok has joined the Zebra Technologies PartnerConnect program. Spok will provide Zebra’s enterprise mobile devices to its hospital customers in North America.

“This relationship provides Spok customers access to a streamlined purchasing process when they are making the important decision to invest in a comprehensive clinical communication platform,” Vincent D. Kelly, chief executive officer of Spok, said in a statement. “We’re excited to bring Zebra’s experience in healthcare mobility to our clients and help clinicians across the country tap into the power of Spok Care Connect right from their Zebra device at the point of care.”

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Enterprise telehealth company Tactio Health Group has partnered with digital brander Telia Company to improve the adoption of digital health programs in areas of home care including IBD, COPD, and congestive heart failure. The first program coming from the two, for IBD, has already been launched in Sweden, and was developing in collaboration with AbbVie and Swedish Health Care, among others.

“Telia’s digital health team evolves in a region we have always perceived as world leaders in healthcare and from our past history in telecoms as well,” Michel Nadeau, CEO of Tactio Health Group, said in a statement. “The fit between our organizations is exceptionally natural in mindset, vision and collaborative aspects of our relationship. We are excited of the IBD Home program launch and looking forward to many more innovative digital health programs to come.”

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Royal Philips will be implementing the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Clinical Pathways within the Philips IntelliSpace Oncology Platform, the two announced at ASCO 2018. The deployment will allow oncologists using the platform to more quickly determine the best cancer treatments for their patients, according to a statement, and can easily be implemented through existing EHR platforms.

"Patient-centric care is key to providing the best cancer treatment to those who need it," Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips, said in a statement. "Together with our partners, we aim to optimize the flow of patient information from various sources and streamline care delivery through the adoption of best practices. By leveraging the unrivaled clinical knowledge and expertise incorporated in Dana-Farber Clinical Pathways, Philips' oncology informatics suite of technologies can assist in providing the most effective care for people based on their genome, and then put it in the hand of doctors through clinical decision support." 

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Micro-acoustic technology company Sonion and wearable biometric sensor company Valencell have announced a strategic partnership focused on developing and manufacturing new sensors for the human ear. These new biometric-sensing ear modules will be designed for a range of use cases within the medical, hearing health, consumer, and professional communications markets, according to the statement from the companies.

“I am truly excited about the partnership with Valencell,” Jesper Ahlmann Funding Andersen, President and CEO of Sonion, said in the statement. “We are bringing the best of two worlds together. Biometric sensing is the next big thing for many of our customers, making the ear-level devices truly multi-functional. Joining forces with the global leader in this field — Valencell — brings accuracy and the possibility to add innovative new metrics to the products we develop for our customers, including advanced medical monitoring. We look forward to together setting a new standard for what is possible.”