What’s Making Headlines in Digital Health?

KT Corp. Makes $2M Pledge to Sonde, Eyes Voice Analysis Integration Into Telehealth

South Korean telecommunications giant KT Corporation is pledging a strategic investment of $2 million in US-based voice analysis platform Sonde Health. KT is seeking a piece of the global market for voice biomarkers and will use Sonde’s voice analysis technology to upgrade KT’s AI-powered voice business solutions. 

Voice biomarkers have been increasingly used in voice-based technologies and telemedicine.

Sonde has also developed a technology that uses voice biomarkers to identify a number of diseases such as respiratory disorders and mental illness. Those biomarkers are analyzed by picking up subtle changes in sound and vocal cord movement. The company also holds a database of millions of voice recordings to detect and monitor diseases.

KT also plans to integrate Sonde's technology into its telemedicine platform in Vietnam. 

Survey: Users of Digital Health Apps are Divided on Data Privacy but Most Share Data with Their Providers or Family Members

A new survey conducted by juli, the AI-powered chronic condition platform, found that app users' assessments of the importance of data privacy varied widely by age, gender and education level. 

The survey is based on responses from 482 consumers who regularly use digital health apps and have at least one serious health condition.

Overall, the survey results found women, older people, and those with a college education rated data privacy as ‘more important’ than men, younger people, and those with a high school education. 

The ones who had an app recommended to them by their physician or other healthcare provider were more likely to share their health data with their healthcare providers and family members than the ones who had found an app on their own or through recommendations.

Overall, the survey found that most people who use digital health apps ‘seem to view privacy as a fundamental right, while others (especially younger consumers) seem more willing to sacrifice privacy in exchange for better health outcomes or other benefits’.

Verily's Digital Health Platform Shows Promise for Diabetes

A recent study has shown that using the Onduo app,  a digital health platform owned by Verily, has significantly improved glycemic and cholesterol levels in the study population.

Verily is a subsidiary of Alphabet, launched from Google X in 2015.

As per the pre-post study titled ‘Independent Evaluation of a Virtual Employer-Sponsored Type 2 Diabetes Management Program on Blood Glucose’, the objective was to independently evaluate the effect of a virtual, employer-sponsored type 2 diabetes management program on blood glucose changes within the first year of participation.

The 578 study participants were in an employer-based group of those living with type 2 diabetes, with the study results showing clinically significant improvements in glycemic levels, within the first year of participation.

The study was conducted from December 2020 to September 2021 independently by Quest Diagnostics where all the participants were mostly engaged in the Onduo program via the mobile app.