The Lancet

A close up of a person wearing a smartwatch.
By  Emily Olsen 11:49 am February 21, 2023
Deidentifying data from wearable devices may not be enough to protect users' privacy, according to a review of studies published in the Lancet Digital Health.  The analysis focused on studies that evaluated whether individuals could be reidentified based on biometric signals from wearables. The researchers included 72 studies in their final review. Most focused on using EEG, ECG and inertial...
A doctor looking at a chest x-ray
By  Emily Olsen 12:05 pm May 17, 2022
Artificial intelligence deep learning models can be trained to predict self-reported race from imaging results, raising concerns about worsening health disparities, according to a study published in The Lancet Digital Health. Researchers found models could detect race from different types of chest imaging results, including X-rays, CT scans and mammograms. The ability couldn't be traced back to...
Eyes
By  Laura Lovett 11:43 am April 18, 2022
New research out of Thailand found that a deep learning algorithm was able to diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetes on par with community specialists, according to a study published in The Lancet.  Researchers discovered that the deep-learning system was able to detect vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy with an accuracy of 94.7%, sensitivity of 91.4% and specificity of 95.4%. This...
VR
By  Laura Lovett 02:57 pm April 6, 2022
Virtual reality therapy could be a key to helping patients with psychosis reduce agoraphobic avoidance and distress, according to a recent study published in the Lancet.  In the study VR therapy was used to immerse patients into a variety of social scenarios with a virtual coach to help guide them. Authors of the study found that patients who had VR therapy and usual care had significant...
Remote patient monitoring
By  Laura Lovett 01:15 pm March 29, 2022
Remotely monitoring a COVID-19 patient's pulse oximetry level could help pinpoint signs of condition deterioration, according to a new systematic review published in the Lancet.  Researchers combed through 561 studies and narrowed down their scope of research to 13 papers based on set criteria. Authors of the Lancet paper conducted a systematic review of the studies and found that measuring a...
skin health
By  Laura Lovett 01:34 pm November 10, 2021
Dermatology is a hot space in digital health. Even Google is creating tools to help patients find answers to dermatological questions. However, there are still many questions about how artificial intelligence algorithms are trained, and whether the data sets used are representative of the population.  New research out of the Lancet found that publicly available datasets that are used to train...
By  Dave Muoio 03:04 pm July 12, 2018
An investigation published yesterday in The Lancet Psychiatry found that automated cognitive intervention delivered via sessions with a consumer-grade virtual reality headset effectively reduced individuals’ fear of heights, and was generally well received by those participating in the study. The results, researchers wrote, suggest that similar automated VR treatments could potentially be viable...
By  Heather Mack 03:29 pm December 5, 2016
For people who have had an amputation, the phantom pain they experience in the missing limbs is as real as any other pain. However, treating pain at a source that is no longer there has long baffled scientists, and many existing therapies, including the use of implantable nerve stimulators or medications, offer no relief for many phantom pain sufferers. But a new study shows augmented reality may...
By  Jonah Comstock 08:20 am August 18, 2014
Remote monitoring of patients with implantable cardiac devices reduced the mortality rate for cardiac patients by 50 percent and improved their clinical status by nearly 10 percent in a randomized control trial recently published in The Lancet. The trial was sponsored by medical device company Biotronik. The trial was conducted at 36 different clinics and hospitals in Europe, Australia, and...
By  Neil Versel 06:01 am September 10, 2012
Agile Health, maker of an SMS-based smoking cessation program for employers and other group purchasers of health insurance, has raised $2 million in private equity to finance development of a similar offering for diabetes management, according to regulatory filings and published reports. Nashville, Tenn.-based Agile Health disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last...