Jolly Good developing digital therapy VR for Apple Vision Pro and more digital health briefs

Jolly Good developing CBT VR for Apple Vision Pro

Japanese medical VR provider Jolly Good has announced that it is developing a virtual reality-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) programme for the spatial computer Apple Vision Pro. 

The CBT VR on the Apple Vision Pro is intended to complement chronic pain treatment using opioids or serve as an alternative non-drug therapy. Similar VR-based digital therapy will also be developed for other psychiatric disorders in the future.

This announcement comes as the company recently set up a subsidiary in North America to usher its expansion in the region.

New mobile app in Hong Kong assists with stroke rehab at home

A multidisciplinary team of medical and allied health professionals and engineers in Hong Kong has created an AI-powered mobile platform that enables stroke rehabilitation in community and home settings.

The SmartRehab platform features 10 gross movement exercises which are tailored to improving the upper limb function, weight shifts and balance of stroke patients. It is powered by a computer vision-based pose estimation algorithm that utilises a mobile device’s built-in RGB camera to predict an individual’s precise body framework and segment key joint locations. 

The system also computes movement-related features, including changes in joint angles, velocity, and the presence of spastic movement, which are used to evaluate the quality of a patient’s movement and provide feedback. It also comes with a portal for therapists to remotely monitor patient’s functional and motor performance, progress and compliance, as well as prescribe exercises.

The team has recently received support from the World Stroke Organization to test the feasibility of SmartRehab in seven countries.

SmartRehab was developed by a team comprising researchers from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU Stroke Research and Prevention Group (HKU Stroke), HKU Sport AI Laboratory (SAIL), and the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation (HKSR). In the future, they plan to incorporate more movements to facilitate the rehabilitation of fine motor functions, as well as introduce biometric monitoring functions to the mobile app. 

AI-driven chatbot in Hong Kong supports Cantonese-speaking parents’ mental health

Researchers at the Nethersole School of Nursing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Faculty of Medicine have built an AI-driven mobile app to support the emotional wellbeing of parents of children with special education needs.

Designed specially for Cantonese-speaking parents or caregivers, the psychological intervention platform, Pai.ACT, combines Natural Language Processing machine learning and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). 

It features the AI chatbot Pai which interacts with users and accurately assesses their psychopathological processes. Before interacting with Pai, users need to complete a self-reported mental health assessment that measures their anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms and parenting stress. 

The chatbot was developed using a large dataset of over 10,000 Cantonese texts derived from ACT-based therapeutic dialogues with parents. According to a press release, it has achieved over 80% accuracy in identifying the psychological flexibility processes of the subject individual in Cantonese conversations during ACT, mimicking the empathetic conversational style of ACT counsellors. 

Pai.ACT also provides users with personalised self-help materials, including videos and audio-guided experiential practices, post-assessment results and chatbot interactions. There is also the option to schedule an appointment with a counsellor for a video-conferencing session. 

Backed by the Hong Kong government’s Innovation and Technology Fund for Better Living, the Pai.ACT app will be officially launched in November. Further empirical validation will also be conducted with 1,000 parents of children with special education needs. 

The CUHK researchers came up with this mobile tool given the “minimal” emphasis on the emotional wellbeing of parents or caregivers in the support services offered to families of children with special education needs. 

Digital diabetes management startup Sugarfit scores $11M in Series A funding

Indian health tech startup Sugarfit has raised $11 million in a Series A funding round led by MassMutual Ventures. 

The startup offers a comprehensive diabetes management programme featuring continuous glucose monitor (CGM), testing devices, medical expertise, personalised coaching, and in-depth analytics, which all help reduce blood sugar levels and reliance on medications. 

SiBionics gets CE mark for CGM solution

Chinese medtech startup SiBionics has received a CE mark for its CGM system. 

Its GS1 CGM provides 14-day continuous glucose monitoring and the ability to transmit glucose data to mobile devices and generate ambulatory glucose profile reports. It also seamlessly integrates with the ProView remote access platform for healthcare providers. 

To date, SiBionics’ CGM offering has been integrated into the inpatient treatment of about 1,600 hospitals and used by over 600,000 people with diabetes around the world. It is now gradually becoming available for pre-sales across European Union countries and the United Kingdom.