Technological advances “pave the way in health,” since “every day there is something new that improves diagnosis, treatment and patient experience, and even prevention,” explained the medical director of Dental Institutes, Dr. Baptiste Chailan, in his speech at the Dialogues session at La Vanguardia in which the director of the Digital Health Validation Center and head of Impuls Digital of the Sant Pau Campus Salut Barcelona, Mar Gomis, also participated; the vice president of Barcelona Health Hub, Luis Badrinas and the CEO and co-founder of Doctomatic, member of the board of directors of Tech Barcelona and the Digital Health of the World Health Organization (WHO), Carmen Pauline Rios.
Video
Dialogues La Vanguardia
L.V.
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a “new alternative for communication with patients thanks to visual elements that are much easier to understand by a public without medical knowledge, ensuring better care and a good understanding of the diagnosis and the steps to follow in the process. of rehabilitation,” Dr. Chailan celebrated. The medical director of Dental Institutes referred to technologies such as virtual reality, which they use to reduce some people’s fear of going to the dentist, given that 22% would go more frequently if they did not have one, according to Barometer data. of Oral Health in Spain 2024 prepared by Dental Institutes.
Prevention is the key word to improve the quality of life of patients
Dr. Baptiste ChailanMedical Director of Dental InstitutesDDS, MSc, MS, PgCert Aesthetics
Communication with patients can now be done through WhatsApp, an application through which appointment reminders are made and which offers the possibility of speaking directly with the clinic. To this service, the implementation of a chatbot will soon be added to resolve frequently asked questions and book appointments. In addition, in their oral health centers they are using and developing other specific solutions in their sector, among which Dr. Chailan highlighted the intraoral camera, which shows real images of the mouth during the examination and that even allows captures of what is necessary to the diagnosis. “By seeing real images of their mouth, the patient understands much better what their needs are, often difficult to perceive with an x-ray.”
In addition to the advantages it offers to the patient experience, technology is an ally for oral health specialists. Thus, for example, in Dental Institutes, as highlighted by Dr. Baptiste Chailan, they use intraoral scanners to design dental prostheses and orthodontic appliances with a quick examination of the mouth, starting from exact measurements and avoiding the discomfort for the patient that may occur. cause other systems. They also use cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), a 3D sectional imaging technique that allows the examination of calcified tissues, such as teeth, which exposes the patient to a “lower radiation dose,” providing “high-resolution three-dimensional images.” , with less interference from metal parts, such as those of dental fillings, to quickly achieve a more detailed evaluation.” Dr. Chailan recalled that “technology should not only help us improve the patient experience but also streamline health-related procedures.”
Technology must help us humanize healthcare, incorporating the perspective of gender, personal health, and environmental impact.
Mar GomisDirector of the Clinical Validation Center for Digital Solutions Sant Pau Campus Salut Barcelona
In the effort to improve communication and monitoring between patients and health professionals, Doctomatic emerges as an innovative solution. “Our main objective is to offer our advanced technology for analyzing images of medical devices and obtaining values from these images to technology companies. This allows chronic disease monitoring applications and medical device readings to be carried out through various communication protocols such as Bluetooth and WiFi,” revealed its CEO and co-founder, Carmen Pauline Rios.
“Using an artificial intelligence algorithm, Doctomatic allows technology applications to capture images from any device, converting them into data that is transformed into detailed analyzes for healthcare professionals. “This technology not only reduces the recidivism rate by 50%, but also saves travel and provides doctors with real-time information for efficient remote monitoring,” he continued. This tool is already being implemented in hospitals, insurance companies and geriatric centers in Spain, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Additionally, Rios highlighted, “it is ideal for rural environments where access to medical services may be limited, providing continuous, high-quality care regardless of location.”
The digitalization of health must serve to support the health system and save lives
Luis BadrinasVice President Barcelona Health Hub
AI, telemedicine and other technologies such as virtual reality empower the patient, as explained by the director of the Digital Health Validation Center and head of Impuls Digital at the Sant Pau Campus Salut Barcelona, Mar Gomis, through examples such as “rehabilitation from the home of highly prevalent lung diseases in our society, such as COPD, home delivery of hospital medication when an in-person activity is not necessary, or virtual reality in people with mental illnesses as support for cognitive-behavioral therapy helping patients to become familiar and gain autonomy in basic daily activities.” In Sant Pau, more than 50 digital transformation initiatives are being actively promoted, many of which, he highlighted, are the result of “public-private collaboration.” “If we want to move forward in improving the quality of care and the sustainability of the health system, we must collaborate with all the actors in the health system who want to add value,” he noted.
One of the entities with which the Digital Health Validation Center of Sant Pau works is the Barcelona Health Hub, a non-profit association dedicated to “promoting digital health and its transfer to the sector”, as defined by its vice president, Luis Badrinas. “With the creation of the Digital Health Validation Center of Sant Pau, the transfer of digital technologies is accelerating,” celebrated Luis Badrinas.
Health is beginning to be preventive medicine. By accessing data, you can live longer and better
Carmen Pauline RiosCEO and founder Doctomatic
Barcelona Health Hub focuses on “connecting all the actors in the ecosystem, including startups, hospitals, universities, pharmaceutical corporations, insurance, large technology companies and investors,” Badrinas explained. Founded in 2018, the association currently has more than 500 members, among which there are more than 300 startups that develop digital technologies for health, which increasingly aim to “make the health system more efficient and empower the patient.” All these technologies, in turn, “will contribute to the sustainability of the health system.” Specifically, “the progressive implementation of AI, developed in collaboration with public health professionals, could save, in Catalonia alone, 3,000 million euros annually, and save 6,700 lives per year, as shown by the conclusions of a study prepared by the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona, promoted by Barcelona Health Hub.”
The raw material for developing AI is data. “Better data, better diagnosis,” insisted the CEO and co-founder of Doctomatic, who also participates in the Global Strategy on Digital Health of the World Health Organization (WHO). Rios celebrated that health is beginning to be “preventive medicine.” “By accessing data, you can live longer and better,” said the creator of this health startup that transforms images into data.
Virtual reality helps reduce some people’s fear of going to the dentist
With AI, you can “go from prediction to prevention,” Gomis added. An example provided by the medical director of Dental Institutes, Dr. Baptiste Chailan, is that of the “genetic” study, since there are gum diseases that are transmitted from parents to children and that can be “monitored” to prevent them by adapting daily habits. . “Prevention is the key word to improve the quality of life of patients,” said the oral health specialist.
“Data analysis should always be carried out under specialist supervision, so any technological advance cannot exclude doctors,” recommended Dr. Chailan. In addition, it must be taken into account that “if people have biases related to gender, race or other conditions that limit the person’s access to the benefits of technologies, we must supervise that the data, algorithms or technology that we develop Do not perpetuate or accentuate these biases,” Gomis warned. Despite this, if we work together with health professionals and experts in data protection, useful initiatives arise such as the “diagnosis of malignant skin diseases through biomarkers without having to go to a health center,” he noted. On the other hand, he added that “it is important to put the patient at the center of any clinical study or development of new health technological tools. It is crucial to ensure that research is conducted in an ethical and relevant manner. This approach not only increases the quality of the data collected, but also guarantees that the needs and experiences of patients are reflected in the results, leading us to more effective and personalized treatments.”
The intraoral camera helps the patient understand what their needs are
“Technology must help us humanize healthcare. We will achieve this if we incorporate the gender perspective, the person’s health perspective (bio-psycho-social), the role of technology and the environmental impact,” Gomis recalled. “The digitalization of health must serve to support the health system and save lives,” Badrinas concluded.
