Empowered Patient Podcast

Dr. Stephanie Lahr, President of Artisight, is promoting the concept of Smart Hospitals and ambient technology's role in improving healthcare delivery. Hospitals can use sensors, cameras, speakers, microphones, and screens to address the increasing complexity of patient care while allowing clinicians to focus on patient care. These technologies are designed to integrate seamlessly into the clinicians' workflow with a focus on process automation and applying AI to drive the convergence of technology and medicine.

Stephanie explains, "A Smart Hospital is a hospital that is equipped with sensors and other kinds of elements that can capture information based on what's happening in real-time and leverage that information in real-time to help automate communication, automate documentation, and send signals. So, in your own home, you might think about a smart home where your thermostat has different elements that can sense when there's no one in the house, and it will change the temperature to be more economical."

"Those kinds of things we can do in a hospital by having sensors, things like cameras, speakers, microphones, potentially temperature sensors, and other things that capture information in real-time and then can do something with that information. We can leverage technology to a greater degree in hospitals, knowing that we want to have that information, but historically, what we've done is capture that information through manual means."

"When a patient is wheeled into an operating room for a surgical case, it is a requirement currently that an individual goes over to a computer system and marks a box that says the patient has now entered the room. We need to track closely how long a patient is in an OR for a variety of quality purposes. What a Smart Hospital would do, is allow sensors, things like computer vision to capture that ambiently in the space, so when the camera senses and sees that a patient in a bed is entering an operating room, we can automate that documentation."

#Artisight #AI #VirtualNursing #SmartHospitalPlatform #SmartHospital

Artisight.com

Download the transcript here

Dr. Steve Marcus, CEO of Cantex Pharmaceuticals, emphasizes the importance of the RAGE receptor in diseases like cancer and inflammation. Their lead compound, azeliragon, blocks the activation of the RAGE receptor and shows effectiveness in inhibiting cancer metastasis and enhancing the impact of radiation. Clinical trials are underway for breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma, and COVID-19. This approach addresses the cancer cells and the microenvironment in which they reside to reduce disease progression and alter the immune environment.

Steve explains, "RAGE is a receptor on the surface of cells that sends signals to the cell that can either enhance or harm health. When over-activated, RAGE has been implicated in a wide range of inflammatory diseases and cancers. In cancer, in particular, over-activation of RAGE has been associated with both the invasiveness of cancer, with the progression of cancer, and with metastasis of cancer."

"Azeliragon blocks the binding of anything that can activate RAGE. The molecules, the proteins that bind to RAGE, are collectively called ligands, ligands meaning something that ligates or binds to the receptor. What azeliragon does is it binds to the receptor. It binds to the portion of the receptor that accepts the ligands and, therefore, blocks the binding of all the ligands. So it's a little bit like if you imagine a lock and the key, and it's almost like putting gum inside the keyhole so the key won't fit in. It's the same type of thing whereby by binding to the receptor, none of the ligands can bind to it."

"One of the attractive things about azeliragon is that it's a capsule. It's a pill taken by mouth. Originally the drug was developed for Alzheimer's disease, and we're repurposing it as a treatment of cancer. In those early clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease, it was remarkably safe. Patients had very little, if any, side effects from the drug. It was comparable to the placebo arm of the clinical trial. The drug is taken once a day by mouth. In the early clinical trials, it was taken for as long as 18 months every day. Another attractive thing about this is that the tumor will be exposed to the drug every day because the person is taking the drug every day."

#Cantex #RAGE #RAGEReceptor #Azeliragon #PancreaticCancer #Glioblastoma #Cancer

cantex.com

Listen to the podcast here

Dr. Steve Marcus, CEO of Cantex Pharmaceuticals, emphasizes the importance of the RAGE receptor in diseases like cancer and inflammation. Their lead compound, azeliragon, blocks the activation of the RAGE receptor and shows effectiveness in inhibiting cancer metastasis and enhancing the impact of radiation. Clinical trials are underway for breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma, and COVID-19. This approach addresses the cancer cells and the microenvironment in which they reside to reduce disease progression and alter the immune environment.

Steve explains, "RAGE is a receptor on the surface of cells that sends signals to the cell that can either enhance or harm health. When over-activated, RAGE has been implicated in a wide range of inflammatory diseases and cancers. In cancer, in particular, over-activation of RAGE has been associated with both the invasiveness of cancer, with the progression of cancer, and with metastasis of cancer."

"Azeliragon blocks the binding of anything that can activate RAGE. The molecules, the proteins that bind to RAGE, are collectively called ligands, ligands meaning something that ligates or binds to the receptor. What azeliragon does is it binds to the receptor. It binds to the portion of the receptor that accepts the ligands and, therefore, blocks the binding of all the ligands. So it's a little bit like if you imagine a lock and the key, and it's almost like putting gum inside the keyhole so the key won't fit in. It's the same type of thing whereby by binding to the receptor, none of the ligands can bind to it."

"One of the attractive things about azeliragon is that it's a capsule. It's a pill taken by mouth. Originally the drug was developed for Alzheimer's disease, and we're repurposing it as a treatment of cancer. In those early clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease, it was remarkably safe. Patients had very little, if any, side effects from the drug. It was comparable to the placebo arm of the clinical trial. The drug is taken once a day by mouth. In the early clinical trials, it was taken for as long as 18 months every day. Another attractive thing about this is that the tumor will be exposed to the drug every day because the person is taking the drug every day."

#Cantex #RAGE #RAGEReceptor #Azeliragon #PancreaticCancer #Glioblastoma #Cancer

cantex.com

Download the transcript here

Alex Nemiroff, General Counsel at Praxis Precision Medicines, focuses on developing life-altering treatments for pediatric patients with epilepsy, particularly those with genetic epilepsies known as Developmental Epileptic Encephalopathies- DEEs. Praxis targets specific gene mutations SCN2A and SCN8A with therapies that precisely target the source of the disease. Lead drug candidate PRAX-562 is a precision small-molecule treatment that inhibits seizure-causing activity, and PRAX-222 is a type of RNA therapy that shows potential for complete disease modification.

Alex explains, "There are a number of types of epilepsy. At Praxis, we focus on a few. We have a broader focal epilepsy program, and then we have a number of programs targeting these genetic epilepsies that are referred to as DEEs, Developmental Epileptic Encephalopathies. These are epilepsies that start in infancy, and they're tied most commonly to a mutation in a gene that is known to cause epilepsy. Specifically, we have at Praxis right now in the clinic, programs aimed at mutations in the SCN2A and SCN8A genes. So these are SCN2A DEEs and SCN8A DEEs."

"What we've tried to do, and it's been the goal of Praxis since its inception, since I got connected to this company, is to target these mutations as close to their source as possible. The name is Praxis Precision Medicines very intentionally because what we believe these medicines are doing is precisely targeting the source of the disease. Relatively speaking, as close as we can get. These are not gene therapies. What we have in our pipeline right now and in the clinic are RNA therapies, which are these antisense oligonucleotide therapies, and then also small molecules that are more precisely targeting key components of the diseases."

"This is a big part of where the problem lies because the treatments that exist today, for the most part, are not precise to the specific cause of the disease. What we see with these genetic epilepsies- and again, specifically, we're focused on SCN2A and SCNA8A – there are no treatments other than the ones that Praxis are developing that target these mutations specifically. So what a doctor has to do, and what they did in my son's case and all of these other patients' cases, is they just start throwing these broad-based anti-epileptic medications at the child, and essentially, it's a trial and error process."

#Praxis #Epilepsy #PediatricEpilepsy #SCN2A #SCN8A #CNS

praxismedicines.com

Listen to the podcast here

Alex Nemiroff, General Counsel at Praxis Precision Medicines, focuses on developing life-altering treatments for pediatric patients with epilepsy, particularly those with genetic epilepsies known as Developmental Epileptic Encephalopathies- DEEs. Praxis targets specific gene mutations SCN2A and SCN8A with therapies that precisely target the source of the disease. Lead drug candidate PRAX-562 is a precision small-molecule treatment that inhibits seizure-causing activity, and PRAX-222 is a type of RNA therapy that shows potential for complete disease modification.

Alex explains, "There are a number of types of epilepsy. At Praxis, we focus on a few. We have a broader focal epilepsy program, and then we have a number of programs targeting these genetic epilepsies that are referred to as DEEs, Developmental Epileptic Encephalopathies. These are epilepsies that start in infancy, and they're tied most commonly to a mutation in a gene that is known to cause epilepsy. Specifically, we have at Praxis right now in the clinic, programs aimed at mutations in the SCN2A and SCN8A genes. So these are SCN2A DEEs and SCN8A DEEs."

"What we've tried to do, and it's been the goal of Praxis since its inception, since I got connected to this company, is to target these mutations as close to their source as possible. The name is Praxis Precision Medicines very intentionally because what we believe these medicines are doing is precisely targeting the source of the disease. Relatively speaking, as close as we can get. These are not gene therapies. What we have in our pipeline right now and in the clinic are RNA therapies, which are these antisense oligonucleotide therapies, and then also small molecules that are more precisely targeting key components of the diseases."

"This is a big part of where the problem lies because the treatments that exist today, for the most part, are not precise to the specific cause of the disease. What we see with these genetic epilepsies- and again, specifically, we're focused on SCN2A and SCNA8A – there are no treatments other than the ones that Praxis are developing that target these mutations specifically. So what a doctor has to do, and what they did in my son's case and all of these other patients' cases, is they just start throwing these broad-based anti-epileptic medications at the child, and essentially, it's a trial and error process."

#Praxis #Epilepsy #PediatricEpilepsy #SCN2A #SCN8A #CNS

praxismedicines.com

Download the transcript here

Dr. Stephanie Lahr, President of Artisight, is promoting the concept of Smart Hospitals and ambient technology's role in improving healthcare delivery. Hospitals can use sensors, cameras, speakers, microphones, and screens to address the increasing complexity of patient care while allowing clinicians to focus on patient care. These technologies are designed to integrate seamlessly into the clinicians' workflow with a focus on process automation and applying AI to drive the convergence of technology and medicine.

Stephanie explains, "A Smart Hospital is a hospital that is equipped with sensors and other kinds of elements that can capture information based on what's happening in real-time and leverage that information in real-time to help automate communication, automate documentation, and send signals. So, in your own home, you might think about a smart home where your thermostat has different elements that can sense when there's no one in the house, and it will change the temperature to be more economical."

"Those kinds of things we can do in a hospital by having sensors, things like cameras, speakers, microphones, potentially temperature sensors, and other things that capture information in real-time and then can do something with that information. We can leverage technology to a greater degree in hospitals, knowing that we want to have that information, but historically, what we've done is capture that information through manual means."

"When a patient is wheeled into an operating room for a surgical case, it is a requirement currently that an individual goes over to a computer system and marks a box that says the patient has now entered the room. We need to track closely how long a patient is in an OR for a variety of quality purposes. What a Smart Hospital would do, is allow sensors, things like computer vision to capture that ambiently in the space, so when the camera senses and sees that a patient in a bed is entering an operating room, we can automate that documentation."

#Artisight #AI #VirtualNursing #SmartHospitalPlatform #SmartHospital

Artisight.com

Listen to the podcast here

Arnon Chait, President and CEO of Cleveland Diagnostics, discusses the role diagnostics play in accurately identifying those patients most at risk for cancer. The current PSA and related tests are used to diagnose prostate cancer to determine if additional diagnostics are necessary. By identifying the stage and treatment options with a more specific blood test and AI-aided identification, doctors and patients can make better informed decisions about further testing or imaging.

Arnon elaborates, "A long time ago, in the late '80s and more in the '90s, a new test called prostate-specific antigen came to the market. It is a simple blood test, which is great and offered a glimpse at the important information for the first time. Before that, it was never available to either a PCP, to a private GP or a urologist, whether you have potentially prostate cancer or not."

"The biggest issue in the industry today, and in the clinical world especially, is what to do with the information. Because some of this information requires downstream diagnostics tests, further diagnostics are highly invasive. So now you ask how accurate they are, and what is the false positive rate? So the key thing to ask always when you have new technology is, what is the cost to the entire system of this technology?"

"We want to find and focus on technology that can look at very, very few markers, but in a correct way. Instead of, for example, looking at DNA, which is information available in your body but is very far from the disease itself. Some of it, namely information in DNA, may say something about cancer but may not. So, it's not that specific."

#ClevelandDiagnostics #CDx #ProstateCancer #ProstateCancerAwareness #IsoPSA #Diagnostics #MedTech

clevelanddx.com

Listen to the podcast here

Arnon Chait, President and CEO of Cleveland Diagnostics, discusses the role diagnostics play in accurately identifying those patients most at risk for cancer. The current PSA and related tests are used to diagnose prostate cancer to determine if additional diagnostics are necessary. By identifying the stage and treatment options with a more specific blood test and AI-aided identification, doctors and patients can make better informed decisions about further testing or imaging.

Arnon elaborates, "A long time ago, in the late '80s and more in the '90s, a new test called prostate-specific antigen came to the market. It is a simple blood test, which is great and offered a glimpse at the important information for the first time. Before that, it was never available to either a PCP, to a private GP or a urologist, whether you have potentially prostate cancer or not."

"The biggest issue in the industry today, and in the clinical world especially, is what to do with the information. Because some of this information requires downstream diagnostics tests, further diagnostics are highly invasive. So now you ask how accurate they are, and what is the false positive rate? So the key thing to ask always when you have new technology is, what is the cost to the entire system of this technology?"

"We want to find and focus on technology that can look at very, very few markers, but in a correct way. Instead of, for example, looking at DNA, which is information available in your body but is very far from the disease itself. Some of it, namely information in DNA, may say something about cancer but may not. So, it's not that specific."

#ClevelandDiagnostics #CDx #ProstateCancer #ProstateCancerAwareness #IsoPSA #Diagnostics #MedTech

clevelanddx.com

Download the transcript here

Lora Sparkman, an RN and VP and Partner of Clinical Solutions, Patient Safety, and Quality at Relias, highlights the high maternal mortality rate in the US and the factors that contribute to it. Lora emphasizes the need for standardization of definitions and a better understanding of the social determinants of health that influence the success of a pregnancy, including the need for pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy healthcare. Digital technology is bringing advancements to healthcare education and helping overcome geographic barriers to improve outcomes and reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.

Lora explains, "In some cases, we're getting our hands around the real story versus some variation across states and definitions, and how death was categorized, those types of things. Putting that all behind us, there's been a lot more work and effort at the federal and national levels to standardize definitions and categories."

"There's been kind of a shift we've seen over the last couple of years, which is we've been very focused on the death rate, again, but that's kind of like, what's leading up to that? Why are we having so many deaths? We're starting to understand and see that we need to focus on pre-pregnancy health, general health, and access to healthcare during pregnancy. Severe maternal morbidity affects about 50,000 to 60,000 women each year. Those numbers are growing."

"No matter where pregnant people are getting their care, our aim and the work that we've been doing at Relias is focused on standardization of using care delivery and protocols and making sure that physicians, nurses, midwives, or anyone who is caring for pregnant people, are utilizing evidence-based guidelines, are aware of the latest evidence-based in research in areas like hypertension, and obstetric hemorrhage, and substance use disorder in pregnancy."

#Relias #Nurses #MaternalMortality #MaternalMorbidity #Pregnancy #WomensHealth #ClinicalTraining #SDOH

Relias.com

Listen to the podcast here

Lora Sparkman, an RN and VP and Partner of Clinical Solutions, Patient Safety, and Quality at Relias, highlights the high maternal mortality rate in the US and the factors that contribute to it. Lora emphasizes the need for standardization of definitions and a better understanding of the social determinants of health that influence the success of a pregnancy, including the need for pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy healthcare. Digital technology is bringing advancements to healthcare education and helping overcome geographic barriers to improve outcomes and reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.

Lora explains, "In some cases, we're getting our hands around the real story versus some variation across states and definitions, and how death was categorized, those types of things. Putting that all behind us, there's been a lot more work and effort at the federal and national levels to standardize definitions and categories."

"There's been kind of a shift we've seen over the last couple of years, which is we've been very focused on the death rate, again, but that's kind of like, what's leading up to that? Why are we having so many deaths? We're starting to understand and see that we need to focus on pre-pregnancy health, general health, and access to healthcare during pregnancy. Severe maternal morbidity affects about 50,000 to 60,000 women each year. Those numbers are growing."

"No matter where pregnant people are getting their care, our aim and the work that we've been doing at Relias is focused on standardization of using care delivery and protocols and making sure that physicians, nurses, midwives, or anyone who is caring for pregnant people, are utilizing evidence-based guidelines, are aware of the latest evidence-based in research in areas like hypertension, and obstetric hemorrhage, and substance use disorder in pregnancy."

#Relias #Nurses #MaternalMortality #MaternalMorbidity #Pregnancy #WomensHealth #ClinicalTraining #SDOH

Relias.com

Download the transcript here