WIRED Health 2023
"The technology driving the future of patient care"
Our team attended WIRED Health: an event that gathers medical practitioners, health technologists, pharmaceutical leaders, and entrepreneurs for a day of eye-opening, inspirational stories. These thought-provoking disruptors, scientists and practitioners highlight how they aim to make positive change in how we provide and access health care.
THE SECRET BODY
Daniel M. Davis, head of life sciences, Imperial College London
Daniel M. Davis, an Immuno physicist at imperial college, spoke of the extraordinary resolution of single-molecule fluorescence illuminating mechanisms behind cancer cells killed by immune cells. His new book is called The Secret Body: How the New Science of the Human Body Is Changing the Way We Live, which reveals up-and-coming revolutions within the previously invisible aspects of human health. His previous book is called The Beautiful Cure: The Revolution in Immunology and What It Means for Your Health. Both of these are recommended reads by our medical team.
UKRAINE: DOCTORS IN A WAR ZONE
Rachel Clarke, palliative care doctor & writer, NHS, https://www.doctoroxford.com
Traveling to Ukraine with a neurosurgeon to work in a palliative care hospice, Rachel Clarke tells her story and the importance of storytelling when it comes to healthcare and technology. As a former journalist and current doctor within the NHS, Clarke has a unique lens through which to view the patient experience. Within palliative care, she attempts to give lives meaning at their end by helping to shape personal narratives. This, in her opinion, can be more powerful than any amount of morphine.
She provided a sobering reality check: while Ukrainian parents keep awake at night about their sons being killed on the front line, we here in the UK are stressing over our kids' GCSE results. “Nobody in Ukraine wants to be this brave,” says Clarke. People are tired, yet many have planted gardens as small acts of defiance to provide them with additional food.
A bit of funding can make a substantial difference in providing low-tech solutions to end-of-life care, such as mattresses and morphine. Humanity shines through that of storytelling; stories are the way we engage and enact change. Patients’ stories matter, and doctors should be listening and advocating on their behalf.
THE DREAMACHINE: BEYOND THE VEIL OF PERCEPTION
Anil Seth, professor of cognitive and computational neuroscience, University of Sussex https://perceptioncensus.dreamachine.world
The dream machine stems from a fascination with the effect of flashing light on closed eyes, creating stroboscopic effects. To study visual consciousness, a world-leading team of scientists and doctors have built a dream machine: an immersive event within a structure designed for 20-30 people, with a hidden strobe light in the ceiling and spatial sound composed in 32 channels. Lasting 30 minutes, this internal and collective experience is similar to psychedelic medicines’ effects on visual patterns of colors resulting in peace and awe, some even considering the experience life-changing. Music plays an enormous role in guiding participants through the experience, providing an emotional framework and structure. The music is composed in tandem with the visual light sequence to create such an experience. Participants are provided with guardians who conduct breathing exercises and are encouraged to draw their visual experience afterward to the best of their ability.
Anil Seth poses the question, “What is consciousness?” Our perceptual universe is a construction, and we live in perceptual echo chambers. The team has hence created The Perception Census: one of the largest scientific studies on perceptual diversity, available through the link cited above.
“We live in perceptual, unique echo chambers, and to get out of such echo chambers, you need to see what others see.”
PANEL: WOMEN’S HEALTH: ADVANCES, OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES
Jennifer Garrison, co-founder & director, Global Consortium for Reproductive Longevity & Equality
Geeta Nargund, founder & medical director, CREATE Fertility
Kate Ryder, founder & CEO, Maven
Due to misogyny and deeply embedded patriarchal ideals in the medical sector, there is a lack of funding and research on women’s health; women’s needs have been neglected for too long. We have very low specialized knowledge and infrastructure around the financial, clinical, and emotional needs of the multistage, multifactorial women’s bodily plight. A lot of women don’t understand the fundamentals of their own bodies due to a lack of education and deep-seated taboo. We need to move education from clinic rooms to classrooms and boardrooms through collaborative action. All sectors should coordinate inclusive efforts, and it is financially beneficial to support women due to such a huge gap in this market. It is time to instate continuity of care throughout the whole lifespan, and menopause and fertility should be talked about at younger ages and normalized in mainstream discourse. Now, menopause products are selling more than anything in the workforce.
A shift in language is imperative, with Jenniffer citing problematic labeling of the condition “menopause,” seeing as 51% of the population will inevitably go through this life stage. Rather than insinuating disease-like qualities, we should drive home its naturality and commonplace globally. There even lies an issue around the term Fem Tech as we feel a need to genderize standard care that has simply been neglected. “Why do we talk about fem tech? We don’t talk about dude tech,” says Garrison.
Women are not just mothers or incubators; ovaries make a whole cocktail of hormones that are critical for general health. This behavioral endocrinological approach should examine the connection between the brain and the rest of the body, specifically hormonal shifts due to life stages or intake of contraceptives. Going through something like menopause (when a woman hasn’t had a period in 12 months) or even changing birth control can be extremely traumatic, and there are no proper policies or support structures in place to improve care and eliminate stigma.
We are facing a sex and hormone health failure for women. One in seven women have fertility problems. Still, there is no real healthcare infrastructure for infertility, except when one is attempting pregnancy. In terms of health equity’s impact on the workplace, fertility benefits should be initiated along with more coverage and empathy around menopause, seeing as most working women in their 40s and 50s are quietly dealing with these issues, forcing many out of work unnecessarily. At the top of the food chain in the corporate world, this is what creates an imbalance. Women are underserved patients and face many health anxieties that are simply ignored. Funding is critical to eliminate this data desert on female reproductive and overall health. Finally the world is starting to listen and give women the attention and care they deserve.
MAKING SENSE OF CANCER
Hannah Fry, Professor in the Mathematics of Cities, UCL
Hannah Fry, a mathematician, recites her reaction and prompt treatment response to her cervical cancer diagnosis in 2021, depicted in a film she made about her experience as a patient. Through her calculations of risk, she analyzes the fallacy of informed consent when receiving statistical odds of survival of available treatment options. Patients toward the end of their life will go through Chemo even if there is a 0.1% chance it would prolong their life. “If patients fully understood their odds and complications, they would not go through with it,” says Fry. Doctors have even said they would not choose treatment if it had less than a 25% chance survival rate. Oncologists need to take into account patient experience and keep in mind that fear of disease typically means we don’t make the right healthcare choices that align with our values.
Professor Fry has been at the center of the patient journey. She even received peritoneal stripping, a treatment that she did not truly need, and now has life-changing repercussions of lymphoedema, swelling of the limbs. She did not feel empowered as a patient to ask all the questions that needed to be asked.
As it turns out, 7-9% of humans have cancer in our bodies that we have no idea about and experience no effects of. This is ten times the number of people who receive a diagnosis. Therefore, there lies an argument that our bodies are capable of naturally fighting certain cases of cancer. While detection rises, there are consistent deaths regardless of found cases. This is similar to prostate cancer, as untreated people have the same survival rates as fully treated ones.
How is it possible for patients to give informed consent in a culture that hides death?
Fear causes us to react in ways we rationally would not. Doctors need to take into account patient values and goals while providing comprehensive education about short and long-term effects of treatments and sobering statistical odds of survival.
HOW YOU CAN JUMPSTART INNOVATION TO UNLOCK THE POWER OF DATA TO DELIVER VALUE-BASED HEALTHCARE
Pamela Spence, global health sciences & wellness industry leader, EY
Pamela Spence analyzes the unsynchronized innovation within health tech: “We have patients who demand an experience, not just a treatment,” says Spence. In the age of digitized care, we are called to utilize the explosion of health data around us and personalize treatments. With a future driven by ambient technology, seamlessly integrated into our ways of living, bioelectronics like implants can detect diseases, inflammation triggers, and more. We have transitioned from analog care to digitized care, moving onto connected care and, hopefully, a smart health system. In order to establish connected care, groups need to acknowledge their respective values. Patients want basic access, providers want the most effective treatments, policymakers want to understand risks, and biopharma companies need approval of new medicines at a profitable price point.
To jump the innovation curve, we need to align and recognize the “why” for other stakeholders in the healthcare sector. Therefore, the solution to create harmony is to increase collaboration between all parties, which Spence is currently carrying out.
REFRAMING HEALTH AND AGING THROUGH THE LENS OF REPRODUCTIVE LONGEVITY
Jennifer Garrison, co-founder & director, Global Consortium for Reproductive Longevity & Equality
There lies a public health pandemic: aging. With the goal to expand health span, not just lifespan, Jenniffer Garrison correlates ovarian aging and menopause with overall longevity science, telling us key information about the science underlying aging and its correlation to female reproductive health. Aging within the male reproductive system is synched up with their bodies, whereas ovaries age at 2.5x the rate than the rest of the organs within a woman’s body. While men generate millions of new sperm a day, women, born with all the eggs they’re going to have, lose most of their eggs before they are born. This desynchronized aging is a risk factor for many deadly conditions. It is not a small task to reproductively sync the age of women to men.
“Ovary carriers” can act as a canary in the coal mine for aging. There lies a correlation between early menopause and early death. Affecting men as well, brothers whose sisters go through menopause later tend to die later. There is a genetic component, and menopause needs to be studied in relation to aging in both sexes.
Women live longer than men yet, spend more time in poor overall health. “The male body (even for mice and monkeys) has been biology’s baseline for over a century.” Negative repercussions include around 80% of drugs being pulled off the market due to detrimental side effects on women. Menopausal women will soon hit 1 billion people; the global menopause market is expanding. There is global significance for women and men to study the natural process of aging and menopause, and it is imperative that we are inclusive of both sexes when conducting vital research and clinical trials.
BIO WEARABLES: A WINDOW INTO OUR BODIES LIKE NEVER BEFORE
Marc Taub, Divisional Vice President of Technical Operations, Diabetes Care, Abbott
Marc Taub describes the power of Bio wearables, specifically the significance of Abbott’s freestyle libre: a constant glucose monitor and its impact not only on diabetic patients but on athletes and people interested in taking charge of their metabolic health. Providing a window inside our bodies can be empowering and helpful in stabilizing blood sugars, allowing us in real time to tailor our behaviors to accommodate our specific metabolic type. In future devices, other health information is being explored to measure ketone and lactate levels to make changes to athlete training or overall lifestyle. Personalized healthcare is the future through the aid of technological monitoring, creating a real-time feedback loop to be interpreted by patients and practitioners. Higher insight into our health through the usage of bio wearables can help patients monitor their conditions. This is already life-changing in Type 1 Diabetes management, and its benefits can be extended to the general population. As of now, the Libre costs about $150 for two sensors.
THE VIRTUAL CLINIC TRANSFORMING WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE
Kate Ryder, founder, and CEO, Maven
Kate Ryder, founder and CEO of the Maven Clinic, makes a shout out to Jack Kreindler for his ongoing support since her 2014 start here in the UK!
Ryder accrued knowledge of many digital health companies and, as she was starting a family, realized none were focused solely on females and their health journeys. She now is CEO of the largest virtual clinic in women’s and family health with 450 employer clients. Women are typically the key leaders in the making of family healthcare decisions. The team focuses on clinical, financial, and emotional support for women and families. Fertility and menopause are key areas of focus. “If you can work with the core customers at this menopause-sensitive time of their life then you have long-term loyalty,” says Ryder.
Partnering with employers, Maven can negotiate payments and instate care within company culture. This culturally appropriate care model utilizing “care matching,” can select matched support from specialists all over the world. Putting patients in the driver’s seat of their healthcare and making it virtual is critical for engagement and empowerment.
LIFETIME: THE NEW SCIENCE OF THE BODY CLOCK
Russell Foster, professor of circadian neuroscience, the University of Oxford
Due to the recent craze around sleep health, Russel Foster dedicated his time to debunking certain buzzwords and myths around sleep. We list them fo you here.
Melatonin is a biological marker of the dark, not a sleep hormone.
Kindles don’t destroy your sleep.
Got less than 8 hours of sleep? You will NOT DIE.
Despite certain misinformation, Foster highlights that the impact of sleep deprivation is widespread. Sleep and wake are deeply connected, and good quality sleep begins as you start your day. “Circadian biology is essential,” says Foster.
Here is some key sleep information Foster lists:
To drive when overly tired is the equivalent of being legally drunk, so do not drive when sleep deprived.
Teens are delayed two hours in their peak cognitive performance, hence night owl tendencies.
Sleep deprivation in the middle years affects dementia risk in later years.
Night shift work is a WHO-probable carcinogen.
Chemotherapy behaves differently at different times of the day in ovarian cancer, radiotherapy, leukemia, and immunotherapy.
You selectively forget good things and amplify negative emotions with sleep deprivation.
Information processing improves with quality sleep.
“If I can end my career giving people back their time I will be happy and enjoy a gin and tonic.” - Russel Foster
Start-up Showcase Winner:
THE LOWDOWN
