After three years of intensive collaboration, the ICT4Life project concluded with visible and hopefully lasting effects on the everyday life of patients living with cognitive impairments.

As a technology partner, NETIS provided the necessary IT background for its eight partners, connecting patients and healthcare professionals with user-friendly ICT tools. For example, NETIS developed a digital interaction tracking solution, remote rehabilitation exercises, and an integrated social support palette. Also, NETIS built the IT platform for collaboration, that integrated heterogeneous systems, and services, such as cloud and local platforms, server-based and serverless architecture, six different programming languages and frameworks, and five database platforms.

During the ICT4Life project, we provided customized services to all stakeholders, built a service platform integrating social and health aspects, monitored patients with advanced and non-intrusive tools, that provided data and alerts. Our professionals created a secure communication channel between all stakeholders, ensuring the privacy of confidential health data, based on GDPR.

ICT4Life was a three-year project financed by Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation, that started on the 19th of January 2016 with the ambition to provide new services for integrated care employing user-friendly ICT tools, ultimately increasing patients with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other dementias and their caregivers’ quality of life and autonomy at home.

The program shifted from reactive service delivery to a real preventive and patient-centered model of integrated care by enabling users’ education and empowerment. The initiative brought together nine partners – including NETIS – representing academia, industry and end-users’ groups, all committed to improving patients’ lives and advancing Europe’s leadership role in personalized services for integrated care.

Author: Eva Lajko

Did you know, that every year, a Boston based organization, T1Dexchange organizes Diabetes Innovation Challenge? The challenge brings together diabetes innovators and patients, gives birth to a lot of fresh ideas for diabetes therapy.

Winners were announced in last May but work on the prototypes and selected ideas begun earlier. Last year’s winner is a concept of a glucose-responsive, “smart glucagon”, that is expected to sense low sugar levels and automatically activate to restore blood sugar levels to prevent potentially life-threatening hypoglycemia. The foundation granted $ 50,000 in cash and up to $150,000 of in-kind support to the developing company, and media provided much-needed publicity.

The second runner is a smart shoe insole to continuously monitor people with diabetes for foot ulcers that can lead to amputations. The third-place winner is an ultra-thin, bandage-like patch pump that has the potential to improve medication compliance and lower costs, especially for patients with challenging medication regimens that involve frequent injections.

People’s choice

The challenge has a people’s choice section, where online voters can pick their favorites. Two winners emerged in this category: the first company is developing a self-contained biometric identification and monitoring technology to support self-care management of diabetes. The second one is developing an E-pancreas with a closed loop delivery system.

Some of the ideas that made it to the final are also promising. They bring a glimpse of innovations yet to come. One company promised a device that carries oxygen into the eye to prevent lower levels of oxygen and blindness. Others thought of an ultra-thin, flexible, bandage-like patch pump that delivers multiple drugs and costs less than a pen. A company is promising a tiny wireless user-insertable glucose sensor that works for more than a month, but a CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) device integrated with a smartwatch is also a wanted item.

Smart pens are also new

Smart pens are also a novelty on diabetes IT technology market. One is a reusable injector pen with a smartphone interface. When paired via Bluetooth with a smartphone app, the system keeps tabs on how many insulin units were given at the last injection, when that occurred and other information. It is meant for those who inject insulin multiple times a day. It can deliver 5 to 30 units, dialed in half unit increments. The pen lasts a year without recharging.

We at NETIS (and our startup company, ALSAD Medical) are also working on a solution supporting everyday lives of people with diabetes and kidney failure. While we also think integration of smart devices such as CGMs, smart watches or glucometers is key, we also discovered how important the „non-medical” factors could be: namely daily habits, from nutrition, hydration to exercise and activities, including a balanced sleep. Applications and innovations can help to lead a compliant and easy-to-manage lifestyle (including AI-supported, automatically generated menu plans adjusted to the user’s condition and preferences): we will soon publish our initial results of our ongoing pilot.

Author: Laszlo Varga

„Elderly people need caring humans first, not just sensors and technology” – I read in many comments under articles about technology support tools to combat challenges of an ageing society. It is true that technology does not replace caring relatives and friends – but several elderly people cannot count on daily help of family and friends. Technology can also help the „caring humans” to avoid over commitment, fatigue and burnout. However, one of the key obstacles might still be that many people are still feeling uncomfortable and unfamiliar with several available IT tools.

When we talk about older people, and about healthcare IT technologies, that can improve the quality of their lives, we also must talk about those surrounding these individuals: the caring family, the healthcare providers, doctors, nurses, physicians. They are also affected by the challenges life poses for the elderly. Technology can help them to understand better the condition of the patient or family member, and support the management of daily tasks – if they are open to learn and apply these IT tools.

Smaller and busier family members, a growing percentage of singles

Let’s face it: nowadays families tend to be smaller. Older adults are more likely to be single than earlier generations. So as such, there is much more pressure on those providing caregiving support – data shows, that about two-thirds of people receiving at-home care are getting it from unpaid caregivers like family and friends. On the other hand, most adults cannot give up their work to look after a sick or elderly person in full-time. Charities or public health/social services cannot cover all needs either, which created a market for home care services, from paid domiciliary assistance to nursing services as well as tech apps to substitute basic services previously provided by family members, devoting considerable time and effort day by day, including constant attention and mental load.

So unsurprisingly, the demand for home healthcare services is increasing, with the global market reaching a value of $391 billion by 2021. The sum includes private caregiving, telehealth, medical devices and therapy services. For our grandparents, who live at home, and family members, doctors helping them with tools that improve quality of life and make healthcare delivery easier are essential.

A technology insight to simulate how it feels to be old

What is like to be old? With the help of VR (virtual reality) technology younger people, doctors, medical staff, students can experience firsthand, how does it feel to live with bad eyesight, deteriorated hearing. With the help of a startup that created a VR simulation for physicians, family members or medical students’ subjects can get a feel what is like to be old. Alternatively, as it is shown in the simulation, what is like to live with macular degeneration – patients see a large, dark patch over the sight of loved ones. This project is not treatment oriented, it is not about providing care or a cure. It is about understanding where the patient is, so family members, doctors can be with her/him.

However, technology must come in handy for everybody. Integrating the technology into our daily lives can’t come as a burden – for seniors and for those providing care, either. Patients and staff alike may be nervous around technology at first, but once in their hands, there usually isn’t a return to life without it. Situations where technology is unavoidable and provides an instant benefit may help to familiarize ourselves with technology and explore additional opportunities it can offer.

Natural curiosity can help

Some older people still have a natural interest that helps them bypass their first instinct of not trusting technology. If we are blessed with such parents or grandparents, technology brings us closer. New devices, a pure tablet with a Skype-like video chat enabled must suffice to keep in touch even when they are living remotely.

If the love of technology is not coming in handy, there are passive health IT products available for them as well. For instance, connected sensors can be placed on objects within a home – such as prescription pill bottles or the refrigerator – to detect when the resident is taking medications, getting food, or leaving home. Camera monitoring systems can be installed in these homes, allowing family members to check on their loved ones via remote camera viewing and audible communication. New technologies can also apply methods to restrict details to protect the privacy of the monitored person, while still issuing an alert if necessary.

Smart pillboxes and video consultations might be a good start

Telehealth IT systems can connect patients with doctors, making patient follow up more comfortable. For chronic diseases changing treatment, weekly consultation is less of a burden using telehealth solutions. Expert medical care can be delivered to remote areas, or to people for whom traveling is a challenge.

Technology can help monitor proper medication, even when the caregiver is away. Smart pill boxes or smart pill dispensers – loaded with the appropriate medications once a week or a month – may audibly or visually alert a patient that they need to take their prescriptions. The dispenser can be tamper-proof or lockable to avoid overdosing. More intricate designs incorporate SMS technology to alert the caregiver as to whether a prescription dose has or has not been taken in a specific window of time.

Author: Eva Lajko

Whenever we talk to older adults, they express one universal wish: they would prefer to age in their homes instead of moving into nursing homes. However, they are also aware that chronic illnesses like dementia would shatter this dream.

Thanks to a robot developed by scientists from Washington State University, this wish could become a reality. In this project still in the early stage of development researchers finalized a robot equipped with an activity support system. This system uses sensors embedded in a smart home built for research to determine where its residents are, what they are doing and when they need assistance with daily activities. It navigates through rooms and around obstacles to find people on its own, provides video instructions on how to do simple tasks and can even lead its owner to objects like their medication or a snack in the kitchen.

Researchers tested the system with the help of 26 student volunteers. They had to complete three activities in the smart home with the help of the robot: preparing to walk the dog, taking medication with food and water and watering plants. The smart home sensors detected if a human was struggling with one of the tasks, and the robot received a message. Then located the person in need and offered assistance through a tablet interface.

The persons in need could indicate if they wanted to see a video of the next step in their activity, a video of the entire action or they could ask the robot to lead them to objects needed to complete the operation: like a granola bar in the kitchen or the dog’s leash.

What’s next?

Although the project is still in an early stage of development, the initial results with the robotic system are promising. The next step in the research will be to test the robot’s performance with a group of older adults to get a better idea of what inputs, video reminders and other preferences they have regarding the robot. The students involved in the trial rated the robot’s performance favorably. According to this young group of people, the next step video gave them the most useful info in the test.

Author: Zoltan Gelencser

SME’ solution, Enterprise File Fabric securely unifies disconnected data nodes in the company, regardless where data is stored – on premise or in the cloud – while providing a transparent data view for easy data audit, compliance, and governance.

Before the world of internet data management of businesses was relatively easy, as everything was stored on the computer or an external hard drive. With the appearance of cloud-based file sharing services employees started storing their data on cloud services, because it was easier to share data, to collaborate. This behavior was unsanctioned, overlooked by companies and led to a rampant sprawl across data services in almost any company.

Secure storage of shared company data poses a big challenge for the IT division and the business continuity itself. From one hand information is scattered across data repositories on premise, in the private/public cloud, or on file servers. Companies have to cope with increasing compliance legislation, be it national data protection laws or GDPR. Moreover, on the other hand, users want fast, secure and reliable access to valid company data from all devices (PC, laptop, smartphone, tablet) and platforms.

Many questions arise:

How can employees find the right files at the right time which are dispersed across on premise and on cloud storage?

How can we ensure that data is compliant to legislation such as GDPR?

How can companies protect and recover quickly from ransomware attacks?

How can we search across all our data?

How can we encrypt and protect sensitive data on-site an on-cloud?

How can we best integrate and secure cloud data stores, such as S3/Azure, in our workflow?

How can we speed up transfers to and from the cloud?

How can we make it easier for compliance offices to track and report data access?

How can we work as a team and collaborate across disparate data sets?

How can we rapidly discover data leak and unauthorized usage?

SME provides a transparent solution with Enterprise File Fabric to all these challenges.

SME provides a solution to this complex problem by unifying business, governmental and end users data storage solutions (on-premise and cloud-based alike) in one converged data infrastructure. This solution is a unified content repository for all company data, that helps enterprises, governmental agencies comply with the ever-changing data protection (GDPR) legislation landscape.

SME’s mission is to provide a unified standard approach to secure and integrated data management that meets two main business challenges:

A unified data management platform

SME provides a centralized data management platform for all combination of on-premise and cloud-based data storage solutions while securing consistent audit and management tools across all devices.

Enterprise solution

SME provides cloud-like economics across a company’s storage portfolio unlocking the benefits and cost-efficiency of their data assets, whereas providing strict controls and governance for legislative compliance and security concerns. With a single sign-on (SSO) approach SME enables a reliable and secure platform for file governance, audit, compliance and business continuity.

It does not matter what storage system a company is using; the SME’s solution can unify them into a single pane of glass view for management and access. Once configured, the solution can be transparently used with existing user productivity applications such as Outlook, Microsoft Office 365 and Libre Office. In the background, SME’s solution is accelerating file transfers to end-user while enforcing existing policies, providing an active archive for ransomware protection and auditing interaction across data sets and ensuring legislative compliance and governance.

Accessing data is as easy as changing directories; moving data is as simple as a drag-and-drop between systems. Data events across all systems are logged and audited. Moreover, data is also checked to ensure that personal information is not being accidentally exposed. Everything occurs transparently to the end-users. SME provides full end-to-end security and compliant solution for all corporate data no matter where it is stored.

Authors: Zoltan Mathe & Zoltan Gelencser