Nori Health launches CE-certified iPhone app to guide chronic bowel patients.
Background
Globally more than half of adults are believed to be living with some form of chronic disease or condition. In the UK for example, more than 75% of the total health budget is reportedly spent treating long-term and chronic conditions. The cost of treatment is expected to keep rising as people live longer.
All of this sets the scene for a next generation technology based on the use of app-based therapeutic and behavioral guidance. A first so-called chatbot app has been launched by digital health startup Nori Health, initially for management of chronic bowel disease. The chatbot is for use by people living with Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis, with expansion to other therapeutic areas planned.
Patients can use the CE-certified app to have personal chat conversations with “coach Nori” to improve lifestyle behavior and symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and inflammation. Nori Health is currently accessed via invite-only to patients in treatment and medication trials, distributed in partnership with pharmaceutical companies and hospitals. The app is available in English, Dutch and French, and can be downloaded through the Nori Health website: https://www.norihealth.com/
The Nori Health chatbot program provides unlimited conversations over an eight-week period, setting it apart from current behavior monitoring healthcare apps. These apps leave the responsibility and pressure on the patient to determine what they need to change, in order to get the results they want. With Nori, the digital coach takes the lead, mapping lifestyle patterns and actively suggesting personalized and tailored habit changes.
The chatbot is pre-armed with scientifically-proven data, while AI technology is used to continually make Nori smarter, learning from the whole community of users. Patients can get access to program updates twice a year, to receive fresh insights and evaluate their personal situation.
In addition to chat conversations, patients can also indicate signs of a possible inflammation, the cause of many cases of hospitalizations and surgery for Crohn’s and Colitis patients alike. Nori provides actionable tips for direct relief.
Company comments
“Patients are guided by a chatbot coach in order to offer personalized support at a large scale, something that is otherwise simply not possible. The number of chronic disease patients is growing fast and this is the way forward in managing this”, states Roeland Pater, founder of Nori Health and Crohn’s Disease patient.
Source: Life Science Newswire
published: November 2, 2020 in: Approval/Clearance, Gastroenterology, Robotics, Technology