Empowered Patient Podcast

Cynthia Pussinen, CEO of Sernova, describes their innovative cell therapy platform, the Cell Pouch System, which can deliver functional cures for chronic diseases using therapeutic cells, tissues, proteins, and other molecules. This implantable device is made of mesh that allows for vascularization, forming a pseudo-organ that can function in the body and fulfill unmet needs. The current focus is on type one diabetes, where the Cell Pouch has shown promising results, allowing patients to become insulin-independent. Other potential applications include treating hypothyroidism and hemophilia A.

Cynthia explains, "The Cell Pouch is a very flexible implantable device. It's made of two polypropylene mesh sheets, and in those mesh sheets, it has perfectly sized pores. So, the Cell Pouch is a couple of millimeters thick and about the size of a credit card."

"We take the Cell Pouch and, place it in the abdominal region of the patient and let it sit for a couple of weeks. And that is to allow vascularization. So vessels and tissues grow through those pores I mentioned a moment ago of the Cell Pouch. It creates a very healthy environment for us to put those therapeutic cells or tissues or blood factors, hormones, or proteins into that Cell Pouch a couple of weeks later after that full vascularization has happened. If we put the cells in without the vascularization happening first, the cells would die."

"After we place those therapeutic cells into the Cell Pouch, the cells in the Cell Pouch essentially form a pseudo-organ of sorts. They begin to function, fulfilling what the body was not capable of previously performing. And so in the case of our type one diabetes study, what happens is, after the Cell Pouch and cells are implanted into the patient's body, we then begin to titrate them off of insulin over the course of a couple of weeks. Then the body with the Cell Pouch and cells goes on to essentially form that pseudo-organ of sorts. We have patients now who have been insulin-independent for a number of years."

#Sernova #FunctionalCure #TypeOneDiabetes #CellTherapy #ChronicDiseases #PrecisionMedicine #Medtech

Sernova.com

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Cynthia Pussinen, CEO of Sernova, describes their innovative cell therapy platform, the Cell Pouch System, which can deliver functional cures for chronic diseases using therapeutic cells, tissues, proteins, and other molecules. This implantable device is made of mesh that allows for vascularization, forming a pseudo-organ that can function in the body and fulfill unmet needs. The current focus is on type one diabetes, where the Cell Pouch has shown promising results, allowing patients to become insulin-independent. Other potential applications include treating hypothyroidism and hemophilia A.

Cynthia explains, "The Cell Pouch is a very flexible implantable device. It's made of two polypropylene mesh sheets, and in those mesh sheets, it has perfectly sized pores. So, the Cell Pouch is a couple of millimeters thick and about the size of a credit card."

"We take the Cell Pouch and, place it in the abdominal region of the patient and let it sit for a couple of weeks. And that is to allow vascularization. So vessels and tissues grow through those pores I mentioned a moment ago of the Cell Pouch. It creates a very healthy environment for us to put those therapeutic cells or tissues or blood factors, hormones, or proteins into that Cell Pouch a couple of weeks later after that full vascularization has happened. If we put the cells in without the vascularization happening first, the cells would die."

"After we place those therapeutic cells into the Cell Pouch, the cells in the Cell Pouch essentially form a pseudo-organ of sorts. They begin to function, fulfilling what the body was not capable of previously performing. And so in the case of our type one diabetes study, what happens is, after the Cell Pouch and cells are implanted into the patient's body, we then begin to titrate them off of insulin over the course of a couple of weeks. Then the body with the Cell Pouch and cells goes on to essentially form that pseudo-organ of sorts. We have patients now who have been insulin-independent for a number of years."

#Sernova #FunctionalCure #TypeOneDiabetes #CellTherapy #ChronicDiseases #PrecisionMedicine #Medtech

Sernova.com

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Dr. Ben Barlow, Chief Medical Officer of Experity, has identified opportunities to leverage the power of technology in the complex urgent care environment, which requires a wide range of services. To overcome the challenges of long wait times and staffing shortages, Experity is streamlining workflows and making urgent care more efficient and patient-centered. Online scheduling, pre-visit information gathering, and access to existing electronic health records aid clinicians in treatment decisions and post-visit follow-up, resulting in improved delivery of on-demand healthcare services.

Ben explains, "We do a lot of different things. I don't think people know what we do in urgent care. We started being an alternative for patients to the emergency department, but now we've evolved into being patient-centered to where the doctor waits on the patient. And so, that's what we do in urgent care. We take care of a lot of different needs of the patients, really dictated on what the patients want us to help them with."

"I think that urgent care's strength is that we continue to think about the challenges the patients are experiencing and try to adapt to those challenges. An example is recently, when COVID hit, no one wanted to wait in lobbies. They didn't want to interact with other sick people. So urgent care ramped up its online scheduling, allowing patients to get on a waitlist online and then get texted when it was their time to come in. And so it's those kinds of things that, as challenges arise, the urgent care community is looking to address. Our major challenge right now is looking at the payer system, challenges with reimbursement, labor shortages, and things like that."

"We want to think of the patient as not just the interaction that occurs inside the clinic but also before and after because the medical community and the healthcare environment are very complicated to navigate. We feel like urgent care is the front door into the system, so we're continuing to make products and services that help our clients help patients navigate the complexities of the healthcare environment."

#Experity #UrgentCare #PatientExperience #Healthcare

experityhealth.com

Listen to the podcast here

Dr. Ben Barlow, Chief Medical Officer of Experity, has identified opportunities to leverage the power of technology in the complex urgent care environment, which requires a wide range of services. To overcome the challenges of long wait times and staffing shortages, Experity is streamlining workflows and making urgent care more efficient and patient-centered. Online scheduling, pre-visit information gathering, and access to existing electronic health records aid clinicians in treatment decisions and post-visit follow-up, resulting in improved delivery of on-demand healthcare services.

Ben explains, "We do a lot of different things. I don't think people know what we do in urgent care. We started being an alternative for patients to the emergency department, but now we've evolved into being patient-centered to where the doctor waits on the patient. And so, that's what we do in urgent care. We take care of a lot of different needs of the patients, really dictated on what the patients want us to help them with."

"I think that urgent care's strength is that we continue to think about the challenges the patients are experiencing and try to adapt to those challenges. An example is recently, when COVID hit, no one wanted to wait in lobbies. They didn't want to interact with other sick people. So urgent care ramped up its online scheduling, allowing patients to get on a waitlist online and then get texted when it was their time to come in. And so it's those kinds of things that, as challenges arise, the urgent care community is looking to address. Our major challenge right now is looking at the payer system, challenges with reimbursement, labor shortages, and things like that."

"We want to think of the patient as not just the interaction that occurs inside the clinic but also before and after because the medical community and the healthcare environment are very complicated to navigate. We feel like urgent care is the front door into the system, so we're continuing to make products and services that help our clients help patients navigate the complexities of the healthcare environment."

#Experity #UrgentCare #PatientExperience #Healthcare

experityhealth.com

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Meg Boehme, living with multiple sclerosis and a friend, discusses her reaction to receiving the diagnosis of MS, which she had suspected for many years due to little-understood symptoms. Meg highlights the importance of doctors being aware of the early indications of MS and helping patients see this as a chronic condition that can, in part, be treated with lifestyle changes and staying active. She also emphasizes the need for more affordable access to the latest treatments.

Meg explains, "Oh, yes. It is a chronic condition. What annoys me is that in the media, it's often treated as a fatal condition. And for most of us, for those who don't have the progressive form, it fortunately is not. It doesn't have to be. The diagnosis is not necessarily the end of the world."

"There are good treatments coming down the road. The key to it is keeping yourself active and keeping your own body as healthy as you can. Eating well, staying active, keeping your weight manageable, keeping your diet manageable. Don't do stupid things. That being responsible for your own body, being responsible for your own life. When you get a diagnosis of anything like this, you need to take a look and know that you need to take care of yourself."

"It's a lifesaver, quite literally. I'll go into the chorus in pain, and the pain disappears. Singing is, in all ways, the lifeblood of me. And yes, the singing, the breathing, the posture, the fact that I stand on the risers for three hours a week, that it keeps my brain active, that I have to learn the music. We sing completely acapella. We have about three weeks to learn a piece of music and then sing without looking at the music. And that my director has MS and is not sympathetic towards me. If I'm dizzy or have a problem, I can sit, but I mostly don't. I gut it out. But if I come in pain, most of the time, I don't leave in pain. It's just the thing that keeps me going, and I think the big thing is that it keeps my brain active."

#MS #MultipleSclerosis #ChronicDiseases

Listen to the podcast here

Meg Boehme, living with multiple sclerosis and a friend, discusses her reaction to receiving the diagnosis of MS, which she had suspected for many years due to little-understood symptoms. Meg highlights the importance of doctors being aware of the early indications of MS and helping patients see this as a chronic condition that can, in part, be treated with lifestyle changes and staying active. She also emphasizes the need for more affordable access to the latest treatments.

Meg explains, "Oh, yes. It is a chronic condition. What annoys me is that in the media, it's often treated as a fatal condition. And for most of us, for those who don't have the progressive form, it fortunately is not. It doesn't have to be. The diagnosis is not necessarily the end of the world."

"There are good treatments coming down the road. The key to it is keeping yourself active and keeping your own body as healthy as you can. Eating well, staying active, keeping your weight manageable, keeping your diet manageable. Don't do stupid things. That being responsible for your own body, being responsible for your own life. When you get a diagnosis of anything like this, you need to take a look and know that you need to take care of yourself."

"It's a lifesaver, quite literally. I'll go into the chorus in pain, and the pain disappears. Singing is, in all ways, the lifeblood of me. And yes, the singing, the breathing, the posture, the fact that I stand on the risers for three hours a week, that it keeps my brain active, that I have to learn the music. We sing completely acapella. We have about three weeks to learn a piece of music and then sing without looking at the music. And that my director has MS and is not sympathetic towards me. If I'm dizzy or have a problem, I can sit, but I mostly don't. I gut it out. But if I come in pain, most of the time, I don't leave in pain. It's just the thing that keeps me going, and I think the big thing is that it keeps my brain active."

#MS #MultipleSclerosis #ChronicDiseases

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Kinsey Fabrizio, now President of the Consumer Technology Association, highlights many digital health innovations in the women's health arena showcased in the recent CES 2024 event. A recent CTA study found that 45% of women currently use digital health solutions, and 75% of women in the survey face challenges obtaining healthcare services. With oversight from the FDA, medical devices and wearables are becoming increasingly accurate. With the addition of AI, they are expected to play a role in improving healthcare outcomes and access.

Kinsey explains, "CTA is a nonprofit trade association, and we represent the entire consumer technology industry. And a big part of that is digital health. We have members who are digital health companies, and we strive to help advance the industry for them. We do that through policy, research, and standards development. We're an ANSI-Accredited Standards organization, and through different events, we convene the industry together."

"We saw a lot of really exciting innovations in women's health at the CES 2024 show. Digital health is always a really big category for CES. We have hundreds of exhibitors in this category, and we do two full days of conference programming called our Digital Health Summit. And it's an opportunity for the industry to come together and talk about the exciting transformation of healthcare led by technology. But some really exciting products that we saw in the women's health space were just unique and stood out."

"That is just an example of how tech is starting to be tailored to address specific women's health issues. This isn't something I would've seen at CES 10 years ago, so it shows the evolution and advancement there. Another product that I thought was just game-changing is Cerviray, a cancer screening device by AIDOT, which utilizes a very specific technique called visual inspection with acetic acid. And it's faster, simpler, and less invasive than traditional tests like the pap smear."

#CTA #ConsumerTechnologyAssociation #EmpowerHerHealth #AIforHerHealth #EmpowHERHealth #FutureofFeminineHealth

cta.tech

Listen to the podcast here

Kinsey Fabrizio, now President of the Consumer Technology Association, highlights many digital health innovations in the women's health arena showcased in the recent CES 2024 event. A recent CTA study found that 45% of women currently use digital health solutions, and 75% of women in the survey face challenges obtaining healthcare services. With oversight from the FDA, medical devices and wearables are becoming increasingly accurate. With the addition of AI, they are expected to play a role in improving healthcare outcomes and access.

Kinsey explains, "CTA is a nonprofit trade association, and we represent the entire consumer technology industry. And a big part of that is digital health. We have members who are digital health companies, and we strive to help advance the industry for them. We do that through policy, research, and standards development. We're an ANSI-Accredited Standards organization, and through different events, we convene the industry together."

"We saw a lot of really exciting innovations in women's health at the CES 2024 show. Digital health is always a really big category for CES. We have hundreds of exhibitors in this category, and we do two full days of conference programming called our Digital Health Summit. And it's an opportunity for the industry to come together and talk about the exciting transformation of healthcare led by technology. But some really exciting products that we saw in the women's health space were just unique and stood out."

"That is just an example of how tech is starting to be tailored to address specific women's health issues. This isn't something I would've seen at CES 10 years ago, so it shows the evolution and advancement there. Another product that I thought was just game-changing is Cerviray, a cancer screening device by AIDOT, which utilizes a very specific technique called visual inspection with acetic acid. And it's faster, simpler, and less invasive than traditional tests like the pap smear."

#CTA #ConsumerTechnologyAssociation #EmpowerHerHealth #AIforHerHealth #EmpowHERHealth #FutureofFeminineHealth

cta.tech

Download the transcript here

Dahlia Attia-King, CEO of Panacea, is bringing whole exome sequencing to a broader audience and promoting the value of this data for disease prevention and making smarter lifestyle choices. She highlights the differences between whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing, noting that whole exome sequencing can be conducted more cost-effectively and provide information about the genes most likely to impact health.

Dahlia explains, "These two barriers, the physicians and the insurers, are sometimes big barriers to accessing clinical genetic testing for people, even those who need it and those who fit the current guidelines. We aim to bypass those barriers and partner with very skilled CLIA/CAP certified laboratories. We partner with trained clinical genetic counselors. We partner with physicians who understand how to utilize genetic testing, and we bring those services collectively in one very simple, user-friendly experience so that no one who wants genetic testing will struggle to get it."

"We do that and focus on whole exome because, number one, it's more cost-effective. It's actually quite a lot more expensive to sequence the entire genome. So when you focus on just the genes, you focus on the 20,000 plus genes in the genome and nothing else. But that's so valuable because the vast majority of changes or mutations in your genome that affect your susceptibility for disease happen in the exome."

"But to your point, there is also a large amount of data that can come off the exome that is interpretable. And in a lot of cases, just like you said, it's actionable, which means that information can be used to make certain targeted decisions in your healthcare so that you can essentially, in a way, get ahead of your genes or outsmart your genes because you're prepared. You know the instructions that your genes are holding and where your risks might be. That way, you can certainly better target your healthcare and take a more preventative approach as opposed to a reactionary approach, which happens in most cases in today's healthcare."

#SeekPanacea #WholeExomeSequencing #WholeGenomeSequencing #Genome #PreventativeMedicine

seekpanacea.com

Listen to the podcast here

Dahlia Attia-King, CEO of Panacea, is bringing whole exome sequencing to a broader audience and promoting the value of this data for disease prevention and making smarter lifestyle choices. She highlights the differences between whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing, noting that whole exome sequencing can be conducted more cost-effectively and provide information about the genes most likely to impact health.

Dahlia explains, "These two barriers, the physicians and the insurers, are sometimes big barriers to accessing clinical genetic testing for people, even those who need it and those who fit the current guidelines. We aim to bypass those barriers and partner with very skilled CLIA/CAP certified laboratories. We partner with trained clinical genetic counselors. We partner with physicians who understand how to utilize genetic testing, and we bring those services collectively in one very simple, user-friendly experience so that no one who wants genetic testing will struggle to get it."

"We do that and focus on whole exome because, number one, it's more cost-effective. It's actually quite a lot more expensive to sequence the entire genome. So when you focus on just the genes, you focus on the 20,000 plus genes in the genome and nothing else. But that's so valuable because the vast majority of changes or mutations in your genome that affect your susceptibility for disease happen in the exome."

"But to your point, there is also a large amount of data that can come off the exome that is interpretable. And in a lot of cases, just like you said, it's actionable, which means that information can be used to make certain targeted decisions in your healthcare so that you can essentially, in a way, get ahead of your genes or outsmart your genes because you're prepared. You know the instructions that your genes are holding and where your risks might be. That way, you can certainly better target your healthcare and take a more preventative approach as opposed to a reactionary approach, which happens in most cases in today's healthcare."

#SeekPanacea #WholeExomeSequencing #WholeGenomeSequencing #Genome #PreventativeMedicine

seekpanacea.com

Download the transcript here