Empowered Patient Podcast

Empowered Patient Podcast with Karen Jagoda is a window into the latest innovations in digital health, the application of AI for administrative and clinical uses, the changing dynamic between doctors and patients, personalized medicine, cell and gene therapies, aging in place, wearables and sensors, clinical trials and advances in clinical research, payer trends, transparency in the medical marketplace and challenges for connected health entrepreneurs. This show continues to evolve driven by the convergence of a diverse array of industries.

How Real-Time Location Data and AI Improve Utilization of Clinic Exam Rooms with Isobel Handler Kontakt io TRANSCRIPT 09/15/2026

How Real-Time Location Data and AI Improve Utilization of Clinic Exam Rooms with Isobel Handler Kontakt io TRANSCRIPT Isobel Handler, Senior Director of Product Management at Kontakt.io addresses critical inefficiencies in clinical exam room utilization. By capturing data about staff-patient interactions and facility usage, the Kontakt.io platform incorporates real-time location data to optimize patient access, reduce waiting time, and improve staff safety. The solution helps healthcare organizations understand their current capacity utilization before investing in new facilities and supports integration of digital tools to include virtual visits and asychronous communication to better serve patients and reduce clinician burnout. Isobel explains, "Kontakt.io uses real-time location data, often referred to as RTLS, to improve hospital and clinic operations. We'll talk a lot today about our ambulatory use cases focused on patient access. Still, we also have solutions for inpatient flow, length-of-stay reduction, staff safety, asset tracking, and much more that I won't list. But I think what's really exciting about Kontakt.io is you'll see a lot of RTLS companies in the industry who have built solutions that provide really beautiful blue dots on a map. But at Kontakt.io, we see the opportunity to leverage RTLS beyond that blue dot to produce a set of data that's really well trained and tuned to feed AI models. RTLS data is plentiful, it's machine-generated, it's unbiased, and it doesn't require a human being with a clinical license to enter it. So it produces a lot of really useful information for AI models that are solving some of the top health system problems out there today." "I think it's an environment that's really ripe for some more data to help us understand what's going on in the exam room, as you pointed out. But a shocking statistic is that most exam rooms are only utilized 33% of the time during standard business hours, which feels incredibly low the first time you hear it. But if you think through the logic of how we get to that utilization rate, the performance actually seems quite intuitive." #KontaktIO #IntelligentOrchestration #HospitalOperations #HealthcareAI #PatientAccess #DigitalHealth #HealthcareInnovation #RTLS #AmbulatoryCare #HealthIT #ClinicianBurnout #HealthcareLeadership /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42828530

How Real-Time Location Data and AI Improve Utilization of Clinic Exam Rooms with Isobel Handler Kontakt io 09/15/2026

How Real-Time Location Data and AI Improve Utilization of Clinic Exam Rooms with Isobel Handler Kontakt io Isobel Handler, Senior Director of Product Management at Kontakt.io addresses critical inefficiencies in clinical exam room utilization. By capturing data about staff-patient interactions and facility usage, the Kontakt.io platform incorporates real-time location data to optimize patient access, reduce waiting time, and improve staff safety. The solution helps healthcare organizations understand their current capacity utilization before investing in new facilities and supports integration of digital tools to include virtual visits and asychronous communication to better serve patients and reduce clinician burnout. Isobel explains, "Kontakt.io uses real-time location data, often referred to as RTLS, to improve hospital and clinic operations. We'll talk a lot today about our ambulatory use cases focused on patient access. Still, we also have solutions for inpatient flow, length-of-stay reduction, staff safety, asset tracking, and much more that I won't list. But I think what's really exciting about Kontakt.io is you'll see a lot of RTLS companies in the industry who have built solutions that provide really beautiful blue dots on a map. But at Kontakt.io, we see the opportunity to leverage RTLS beyond that blue dot to produce a set of data that's really well trained and tuned to feed AI models. RTLS data is plentiful, it's machine-generated, it's unbiased, and it doesn't require a human being with a clinical license to enter it. So it produces a lot of really useful information for AI models that are solving some of the top health system problems out there today." "I think it's an environment that's really ripe for some more data to help us understand what's going on in the exam room, as you pointed out. But a shocking statistic is that most exam rooms are only utilized 33% of the time during standard business hours, which feels incredibly low the first time you hear it. But if you think through the logic of how we get to that utilization rate, the performance actually seems quite intuitive." #KontaktIO #IntelligentOrchestration #HospitalOperations #HealthcareAI #PatientAccess #DigitalHealth #HealthcareInnovation #RTLS #AmbulatoryCare #HealthIT #ClinicianBurnout #HealthcareLeadership /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42828485

Treating Dysfunction of Resistance Arteries to Restore Blood Flow with Dr. Steffen-Sebastian Bolz QanatPharma TRANSCRIPT 09/14/2026

Treating Dysfunction of Resistance Arteries to Restore Blood Flow with Dr. Steffen-Sebastian Bolz QanatPharma TRANSCRIPT Dr. Steffen-Sebastian Bolz, Founder of QanatPharma, emphasizes the critical role of resistance arteries, microscopic blood vessels that regulate blood flow and pressure throughout the body, in maintaining organ function. Due to their size, these resistance arteries have been overlooked but with new lab techniques, QP is discovering how their dysfunction contributes to heart failure, cognitive impairment and strokes. The company's lead candidate is a repurposed drug already approved for cystic fibrosis that shows promise in restoring brain blood flow and cognitive function in heart failure patients. Steffen-Sebastian explains, "So what we would consider resistance arteries is anything between the capillary level, which would be 10 micrometers, up to, let's say, a few hundred micrometers. And 300 micrometers is the thickness of a blonde hair. That's kind of what we're talking about here. And everything else, and what I talk about in function is what I said before: they can change their diameter. They can open up or close, which large arteries can not do. They are stiff as a garden hose. They are conduits with arteries. They are made to conduct blood at the lowest resistance possible, whereas the small resistance arteries are made to change resistance and regulate flow and pressure." "As I said, these small resistance arteries and capillaries are everywhere. Every organ has them. And if you compromise the function of those resistance arteries, you compromise blood flow to the capillaries, which actually means that the capillaries don't get enough oxygen. They cannot transport CO2 away from the tissues. They don't get enough nutrients and so on, which then leads to functional damage, which is number one." "And if it persists, if the problem persists, it can also lead to structural damage, which we can actually see. You mentioned the heart. The heart can deal with it, and also the brain can deal with reductions in that flow to a certain extent. But if the reduction in blood flow exceeds a certain limit, you get structural damage. And we see that structural damage. And we call them infarctions in the heart, but also in the brain, which is a stroke." #QanatPharma #VascularBiology #MicrovascularHealth #DrugDiscovery #HeartFailure #CognitiveImpairment #BiotechInnovation #PrecisionMedicine #AIinDrugDiscovery#Microvascular #Neurology #DrugRepurposing #Cardiology #MedicalResearch #ClinicalTrials #Hypertension /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42828375

Treating Dysfunction of Resistance Arteries to Restore Blood Flow with Dr. Steffen-Sebastian Bolz QanatPharma 09/14/2026

Treating Dysfunction of Resistance Arteries to Restore Blood Flow with Dr. Steffen-Sebastian Bolz QanatPharma Dr. Steffen-Sebastian Bolz, Founder of QanatPharma, emphasizes the critical role of resistance arteries, microscopic blood vessels that regulate blood flow and pressure throughout the body, in maintaining organ function. Due to their size, these resistance arteries have been overlooked but with new lab techniques, QP is discovering how their dysfunction contributes to heart failure, cognitive impairment and strokes. The company's lead candidate is a repurposed drug already approved for cystic fibrosis that shows promise in restoring brain blood flow and cognitive function in heart failure patients. Steffen-Sebastian explains, "So what we would consider resistance arteries is anything between the capillary level, which would be 10 micrometers, up to, let's say, a few hundred micrometers. And 300 micrometers is the thickness of a blonde hair. That's kind of what we're talking about here. And everything else, and what I talk about in function is what I said before: they can change their diameter. They can open up or close, which large arteries can not do. They are stiff as a garden hose. They are conduits with arteries. They are made to conduct blood at the lowest resistance possible, whereas the small resistance arteries are made to change resistance and regulate flow and pressure." "As I said, these small resistance arteries and capillaries are everywhere. Every organ has them. And if you compromise the function of those resistance arteries, you compromise blood flow to the capillaries, which actually means that the capillaries don't get enough oxygen. They cannot transport CO2 away from the tissues. They don't get enough nutrients and so on, which then leads to functional damage, which is number one." "And if it persists, if the problem persists, it can also lead to structural damage, which we can actually see. You mentioned the heart. The heart can deal with it, and also the brain can deal with reductions in that flow to a certain extent. But if the reduction in blood flow exceeds a certain limit, you get structural damage. And we see that structural damage. And we call them infarctions in the heart, but also in the brain, which is a stroke." #QanatPharma #VascularBiology #MicrovascularHealth #DrugDiscovery #HeartFailure #CognitiveImpairment #BiotechInnovation #PrecisionMedicine #AIinDrugDiscovery#Microvascular #Neurology #DrugRepurposing #Cardiology #MedicalResearch #ClinicalTrials #Hypertension /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42828350

Drug Inhibits Epigenetic Enzyme To Treat Leukemia and Neuropsychiatric Disorders with Carlos Buesa Oryzon Genomics TRANSCRIPT 09/10/2026

Drug Inhibits Epigenetic Enzyme To Treat Leukemia and Neuropsychiatric Disorders with Carlos Buesa Oryzon Genomics TRANSCRIPT Carlos Buesa, CEO of Oryzon Genomics, specializes in developing precision medicine based on epigenetics, the regulatory mechanisms that control gene expression without altering the DNA. A key target is the LSD1 enzyme which regulates cell differentiation and is a factor in acute myeloid leukemia and CNS disorders. LSD1 inhibition addresses a fundamental insight that the same dysregulated epigenetic genes implicated in leukemia also drive various neruopsychiatric and genetic syndromes suggesting a unified mechanistic understanding of diverse diseases. Carlos explains, "Epigenetics has been the i specialization of Oryzon for many years already. We were, I mean, founded back in 2000, but in the last 12 years, we started to develop precision medicines for cancer, broad disorders, and CNS diseases based on epigenetics. And epigenetics, as the name suggests, is something that is above genetics. It's another supplementary level of control that our cells or our organisms have to basically adapt to the changing world. So, epigenetics is a very complex system comprised of many, many different proteins which control which genes are switched on or off without changing the underlying DNA sequence. What we have seen over the last few years is that in disease, those control mechanisms can become dysregulated. And importantly, many epigenetic changes are potentially reversible. So, our strategy here is to develop drugs that act on particular enzymes, epigenetic enzymes, controlling those changes and resetting our normal gene programs." "A beautiful example of that is leukemia, where there is an extraordinarily complex genetic background, and different epigenetic enzymes offer the capacity to modulate and restore the physiological status to delay the disease, basically to modify the basis of oncological progression. But it's not the only one. We know that epigenetics is working on many other diseases in metabolism, in GI, and some others, but we are also focused on neuropsychiatric disorders. So, these are the two focuses of the company using epigenetics." #OryzonGenomics #Epigenetics #Oncology #Hematology #Schizophrenia #AML #CNS #PrecisionMedicine #ClinicalTrials #HealthcareInnovation #Neuroscience #CNSdisorders #AcuteMyeloidLeukemia #SickleCellDisease /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42745040

Drug Inhibits Epigenetic Enzyme To Treat Leukemia and Neuropsychiatric Disorders with Carlos Buesa Oryzon Genomics 09/10/2026

Drug Inhibits Epigenetic Enzyme To Treat Leukemia and Neuropsychiatric Disorders with Carlos Buesa Oryzon Genomics Carlos Buesa, CEO of Oryzon Genomics, specializes in developing precision medicine based on epigenetics, the regulatory mechanisms that control gene expression without altering the DNA. A key target is the LSD1 enzyme which regulates cell differentiation and is a factor in acute myeloid leukemia and CNS disorders. LSD1 inhibition addresses a fundamental insight that the same dysregulated epigenetic genes implicated in leukemia also drive various neruopsychiatric and genetic syndromes suggesting a unified mechanistic understanding of diverse diseases. Carlos explains, "Epigenetics has been the i specialization of Oryzon for many years already. We were, I mean, founded back in 2000, but in the last 12 years, we started to develop precision medicines for cancer, broad disorders, and CNS diseases based on epigenetics. And epigenetics, as the name suggests, is something that is above genetics. It's another supplementary level of control that our cells or our organisms have to basically adapt to the changing world. So, epigenetics is a very complex system comprised of many, many different proteins which control which genes are switched on or off without changing the underlying DNA sequence. What we have seen over the last few years is that in disease, those control mechanisms can become dysregulated. And importantly, many epigenetic changes are potentially reversible. So, our strategy here is to develop drugs that act on particular enzymes, epigenetic enzymes, controlling those changes and resetting our normal gene programs." "A beautiful example of that is leukemia, where there is an extraordinarily complex genetic background, and different epigenetic enzymes offer the capacity to modulate and restore the physiological status to delay the disease, basically to modify the basis of oncological progression. But it's not the only one. We know that epigenetics is working on many other diseases in metabolism, in GI, and some others, but we are also focused on neuropsychiatric disorders. So, these are the two focuses of the company using epigenetics." #OryzonGenomics #Epigenetics #Oncology #Hematology #Schizophrenia #AML #CNS #PrecisionMedicine #ClinicalTrials #HealthcareInnovation #Neuroscience #CNSdisorders #AcuteMyeloidLeukemia #SickleCellDisease /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42744725

Immunotherapy Stimulates Immune Upregulation and Downregulation in Treatment for Osteosarcoma with Paul Romness OS Therapies TRANSCRIPT 09/09/2026

Immunotherapy Stimulates Immune Upregulation and Downregulation in Treatment for Osteosarcoma with Paul Romness OS Therapies TRANSCRIPT Paul Romness, CEO, President, and Chair of OS Therapies, which is developing an immunotherapy to treat osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer that stimulates the immune system to identify and eliminate cancer cells. The approach upregulates positive immune factors amd downregulates negative factors resulting in a dual biomarker response and better management of side effects. OS Therapies plans to expand its platform technology to other solid tumors with significant unmet needs, including breast, esophageal, and colorectal cancer. Paul explains, "What I think is important is that OS Therapies was started for unmet need, not just in the United States, but there are 20,000 patients a year that get osteosarcoma globally. And it's our responsibility to address patients globally. And it is interesting from a regulatory standpoint, as they start to coordinate with each other, that there are routes for us to get approval in the United States through MHRA, through the UK, and through the collaboration with the EU, with a system called Orbis. But we're also still very confident and very encouraged by the progress we've made with the FDA over the last few months." "And for OS Therapies, we will pivot to other solid tumors. So our primary mission is osteosarcoma, but once we get approval, we'll pivot to other solid tumors that still have a lot of unmet medical need, like breast cancer. There are still 40,000, mostly women, dying each year of breast cancer, esophageal cancer, or colorectal cancer. So if we can encourage other companies to come into this space, we'll not only achieve our primary mission, but we'll also deliver for patients, which is our goal." #OSTherapies #Osteosarcoma #RareDisease #RareCancer #PediatricOncology #RareDiseaseOncology #SolidTumors #Immunotherapy #ListeriaCancerImmunotherapy #Biomarkers #Oncology #ClinicalTrials #HER2 #CancerResearch #ComparativeOncology#CanineOsteosarcoma /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42742440

Immunotherapy Stimulates Immune Upregulation and Downregulation in Treatment for Osteosarcoma with Paul Romness OS Therapies 09/09/2026

Immunotherapy Stimulates Immune Upregulation and Downregulation in Treatment for Osteosarcoma with Paul Romness OS Therapies Paul Romness, CEO, President, and Chair of OS Therapies, which is developing an immunotherapy to treat osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer that stimulates the immune system to identify and eliminate cancer cells. The approach upregulates positive immune factors amd downregulates negative factors resulting in a dual biomarker response and better management of side effects. OS Therapies plans to expand its platform technology to other solid tumors with significant unmet needs, including breast, esophageal, and colorectal cancer. Paul explains, "What I think is important is that OS Therapies was started for unmet need, not just in the United States, but there are 20,000 patients a year that get osteosarcoma globally. And it's our responsibility to address patients globally. And it is interesting from a regulatory standpoint, as they start to coordinate with each other, that there are routes for us to get approval in the United States through MHRA, through the UK, and through the collaboration with the EU, with a system called Orbis. But we're also still very confident and very encouraged by the progress we've made with the FDA over the last few months." "And for OS Therapies, we will pivot to other solid tumors. So our primary mission is osteosarcoma, but once we get approval, we'll pivot to other solid tumors that still have a lot of unmet medical need, like breast cancer. There are still 40,000, mostly women, dying each year of breast cancer, esophageal cancer, or colorectal cancer. So if we can encourage other companies to come into this space, we'll not only achieve our primary mission, but we'll also deliver for patients, which is our goal." #OSTherapies #Osteosarcoma #RareDisease #RareCancer #PediatricOncology #RareDiseaseOncology #SolidTumors #Immunotherapy #ListeriaCancerImmunotherapy #Biomarkers #Oncology #ClinicalTrials #HER2 #CancerResearch #ComparativeOncology#CanineOsteosarcoma /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42742205

Non-Invasive Diagnostic Technology Creates Unique AI Models for Individual Diseases with Dejan Nenov Luventix TRANSCRIPT 09/09/2026

Non-Invasive Diagnostic Technology Creates Unique AI Models for Individual Diseases with Dejan Nenov Luventix TRANSCRIPT Dejan Nenov is the Founder of Luventix, an AI-powered diagnostic platform that uses machine learning to analyze metabolic data from urine samples to detect multiple diseases and health conditions. This approach, inspired by the ability of dogs to detect cancer through smell, enables a single non-invasive test to screen for conditions across oncology, neurology, immunology, and other areas at a fraction of the cost of genetic sequencing or blood tests. The platform has applications in precision medicine, patient stratification for clinical trials, and population-level health screening. Dejan explains, "The origin story is actually quite fun. One of my two co-founders and I were sitting around his dining table after a day of skiing and watching TV, and we saw dogs smelling urine and sitting down when the urine was from a cancer patient. And so we started thinking, can we reproduce this with technology? And we looked at it and said, "Well, what does the dog's nose do?" And we said, "Well, it's identifying the molecules in the volatiles of the sample, the urine. That looks suspiciously like gas chromatography." "And then what happens? Well, the dog's brain determines whether the sample is positive or negative. And that's a classifier, a classic classification problem based on a dataset. So we roll back a year or so, and my co-founder Martin did a study to explore whether he could build models to do what the dogs did, but consistently in a mechanistically repeatable fashion." "We demonstrated that, yes, indeed, based on creating a digital twin of the patient's organism using metabolic data from a urine sample, we're able to train models that can determine whether a disease or condition is present from a urine sample. In the most general case, that's sort of a patient stratification technology." #Luventix #DigitalHealth #PrecisionMedicine #HealthTech #AIinHealthcare #PatientEmpowerment #HealthInnovation #FutureOfHealthcare #DiagnosticInnovation #HealthTechStartup #ConnectedHealth#HealthcareInnovation #AIinHealthcare #Diagnostics #CancerDetection #MedicalAI #ClinicalTrials #Metabolomics #FutureOfMedicine /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42741120

Non-Invasive Diagnostic Technology Creates Unique AI Models for Individual Diseases with Dejan Nenov Luventix 09/09/2026

Non-Invasive Diagnostic Technology Creates Unique AI Models for Individual Diseases with Dejan Nenov Luventix Dejan Nenov is the Founder of Luventix, an AI-powered diagnostic platform that uses machine learning to analyze metabolic data from urine samples to detect multiple diseases and health conditions. This approach, inspired by the ability of dogs to detect cancer through smell, enables a single non-invasive test to screen for conditions across oncology, neurology, immunology, and other areas at a fraction of the cost of genetic sequencing or blood tests. The platform has applications in precision medicine, patient stratification for clinical trials, and population-level health screening. Dejan explains, "The origin story is actually quite fun. One of my two co-founders and I were sitting around his dining table after a day of skiing and watching TV, and we saw dogs smelling urine and sitting down when the urine was from a cancer patient. And so we started thinking, can we reproduce this with technology? And we looked at it and said, "Well, what does the dog's nose do?" And we said, "Well, it's identifying the molecules in the volatiles of the sample, the urine. That looks suspiciously like gas chromatography." "And then what happens? Well, the dog's brain determines whether the sample is positive or negative. And that's a classifier, a classic classification problem based on a dataset. So we roll back a year or so, and my co-founder Martin did a study to explore whether he could build models to do what the dogs did, but consistently in a mechanistically repeatable fashion." "We demonstrated that, yes, indeed, based on creating a digital twin of the patient's organism using metabolic data from a urine sample, we're able to train models that can determine whether a disease or condition is present from a urine sample. In the most general case, that's sort of a patient stratification technology." #Luventix #DigitalHealth #PrecisionMedicine #HealthTech #AIinHealthcare #PatientEmpowerment #HealthInnovation #FutureOfHealthcare #DiagnosticInnovation #HealthTechStartup #ConnectedHealth#HealthcareInnovation #AIinHealthcare #Diagnostics #CancerDetection #MedicalAI #ClinicalTrials #Metabolomics #FutureOfMedicine /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42740805

AI Governance Gap in Healthcare and Use of Shadow AI with Dr. Hansa Bhargava Healio TRANSCRIPT 09/08/2026

AI Governance Gap in Healthcare and Use of Shadow AI with Dr. Hansa Bhargava Healio TRANSCRIPT Dr. Hansa Bhargava, Chief Clinical Strategy and Innovation Officer at Healio, discusses the Healio survey of healthcare professionals to understand evolving attitudes toward AI in clinical practice. While a significant number of clinicians are leaning into AI adoption, significant trust gaps persist regarding accuracy, data privacy and liability concerns. As AI capabilities advance rapidly, healthcare organizations face pressure to adopt these technologies while maintaining rigorous safeguards and establishing clear policies around shadow AI usage and preserving the human-in-the-loop approach. Hansa explains, "Our core mission is really to support and engage doctors and clinicians in the work that they do. To give you a broad viewpoint, there are about two million peer-reviewed publications a year, and doctors, nurses, and clinicians need to stay up to date to deliver the best quality care to patients. And that is sometimes impossible considering the number of hours that they're doing in the clinical setting. So our goal and our vision are to support them by giving them the information right away and sound bites that they can digest quickly and also get to quickly. Because of that vision and mission, we developed Healio AI to make it even faster and more available in a pure format and using good data sources so that they have the information they need for their patients." "It's almost impossible for anyone to keep up with those changes. They're exponential, as you just said. And yes, that's definitely a concern, but the other concerns are just fundamental issues of accuracy of the AI delivering the right answers, whether it's frontier models or whether it's a model such as developed by Healio. And then also privacy of patients, data privacy, and also legalities in terms of who holds the bag if things go astray." #Healio #HealioAI #DigitalHealth #HealthcareAI #GenAI #MedicalTechnology #HealthcareProfessionals #CME #PointOfCare #MedicalInformation #HealthTech #PhysicianBurnout #ContinuingEducation #HealthcareInnovation #MedicalJournalism #AIinHealthcare /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42739865

AI Governance Gap in Healthcare and Use of Shadow AI with Dr. Hansa Bhargava Healio 09/08/2026

AI Governance Gap in Healthcare and Use of Shadow AI with Dr. Hansa Bhargava Healio Dr. Hansa Bhargava, Chief Clinical Strategy and Innovation Officer at Healio, discusses the Healio survey of healthcare professionals to understand evolving attitudes toward AI in clinical practice. While a significant number of clinicians are leaning into AI adoption, significant trust gaps persist regarding accuracy, data privacy and liability concerns. As AI capabilities advance rapidly, healthcare organizations face pressure to adopt these technologies while maintaining rigorous safeguards and establishing clear policies around shadow AI usage and preserving the human-in-the-loop approach. Hansa explains, "Our core mission is really to support and engage doctors and clinicians in the work that they do. To give you a broad viewpoint, there are about two million peer-reviewed publications a year, and doctors, nurses, and clinicians need to stay up to date to deliver the best quality care to patients. And that is sometimes impossible considering the number of hours that they're doing in the clinical setting. So our goal and our vision are to support them by giving them the information right away and sound bites that they can digest quickly and also get to quickly. Because of that vision and mission, we developed Healio AI to make it even faster and more available in a pure format and using good data sources so that they have the information they need for their patients." "It's almost impossible for anyone to keep up with those changes. They're exponential, as you just said. And yes, that's definitely a concern, but the other concerns are just fundamental issues of accuracy of the AI delivering the right answers, whether it's frontier models or whether it's a model such as developed by Healio. And then also privacy of patients, data privacy, and also legalities in terms of who holds the bag if things go astray." #Healio #HealioAI #DigitalHealth #HealthcareAI #GenAI #MedicalTechnology #HealthcareProfessionals #CME #PointOfCare #MedicalInformation #HealthTech #PhysicianBurnout #ContinuingEducation #HealthcareInnovation #MedicalJournalism #AIinHealthcare /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42739565

Red Light Therapy for Healing and Chronic Conditions with Dr. Carl Rothschild and Eddie Brown Trifecta Light Technologies TRANSCRIPT 08/26/2026

Red Light Therapy for Healing and Chronic Conditions with Dr. Carl Rothschild and Eddie Brown Trifecta Light Technologies 08/26/2026

Next-Generation Antivirals to Tackle Norovirus with James Sapirstein CoCrystal Pharma TRANSCRIPT 08/26/2026

Next-Generation Antivirals to Tackle Norovirus with James Sapirstein CoCrystal Pharma TRANSCRIPT James Sapirstein, CEO of CoCrystal Pharma, is developing a platform of antiviral therapies to treat norovirus, influenza and other viruses. Norovirus, commonly transmitted on cruise ships and in dormitories, currently lacks effective vaccines or treatments. CoCrystal's oral small-molecule approach aims to treat active infections by reducing viral shedding duration and provide prophylactic prevention using a novel mechanism that targets viral entry points to prevent replication. James explains, "At CoCrystal Pharma, we have a platform of antiviral programs. The first program is for norovirus, and we have another program for influenza A. And then we also have a platform for rhinovirus, which is also many times referred to as the common cold. There's really not much out there." "Norovirus is commonly known on cruise ships and in dormitories, college dormitories, and really it spreads by touch. That's why, when cruise ships have an outbreak of norovirus, if people haven't washed their hands or they touch an area where someone has touched that area before with active norovirus, they can get infected. And because people touch their faces over a thousand times, literally in a couple of hours, it's easy to transmit the virus." "But there's also chronic norovirus, which people don't really talk about much because it's mostly in the nursing homes and assisted living areas, where some of these patients really suffer, and they're septic for a very long period of time. And they're not tested to see if they have norovirus because they have so many other health issues that people just aren't tested correctly." "Most antivirals, for the most part, work on the RNA. They cleave off the RNA, or they cleave off the cell membrane so that it doesn't replicate and the virus dies off. For us, it's much more specific. We like to call it a pocket where the virus enters the cell. We design a drug to specifically kill the virus at certain aspects within the virus, and then it doesn't allow it to replicate. And that's the way it's designed." #CoCrystalPharma #Norovirus #Antivirals #DrugDiscovery #InfectiousDiseases /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42500650

Next-Generation Antivirals to Tackle Norovirus with James Sapirstein CoCrystal Pharma 08/26/2026

Next-Generation Antivirals to Tackle Norovirus with James Sapirstein CoCrystal Pharma James Sapirstein, CEO of CoCrystal Pharma, is developing a platform of antiviral therapies to treat norovirus, influenza and other viruses. Norovirus, commonly transmitted on cruise ships and in dormitories, currently lacks effective vaccines or treatments. CoCrystal's oral small-molecule approach aims to treat active infections by reducing viral shedding duration and provide prophylactic prevention using a novel mechanism that targets viral entry points to prevent replication. James explains, "At CoCrystal Pharma, we have a platform of antiviral programs. The first program is for norovirus, and we have another program for influenza A. And then we also have a platform for rhinovirus, which is also many times referred to as the common cold. There's really not much out there." "Norovirus is commonly known on cruise ships and in dormitories, college dormitories, and really it spreads by touch. That's why, when cruise ships have an outbreak of norovirus, if people haven't washed their hands or they touch an area where someone has touched that area before with active norovirus, they can get infected. And because people touch their faces over a thousand times, literally in a couple of hours, it's easy to transmit the virus." "But there's also chronic norovirus, which people don't really talk about much because it's mostly in the nursing homes and assisted living areas, where some of these patients really suffer, and they're septic for a very long period of time. And they're not tested to see if they have norovirus because they have so many other health issues that people just aren't tested correctly." "Most antivirals, for the most part, work on the RNA. They cleave off the RNA, or they cleave off the cell membrane so that it doesn't replicate and the virus dies off. For us, it's much more specific. We like to call it a pocket where the virus enters the cell. We design a drug to specifically kill the virus at certain aspects within the virus, and then it doesn't allow it to replicate. And that's the way it's designed." #CoCrystalPharma #Norovirus #Antivirals #DrugDiscovery #InfectiousDiseases /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42500635

How Telehospitalists Are Expanding Capacity and Coverage for Hospitals with Dr. Claire Smith SCP Health TRANSCRIPT 08/25/2026

How Telehospitalists Are Expanding Capacity and Coverage for Hospitals with Dr. Claire Smith SCP Health TRANSCRIPT Dr. Claire Smith, a regional medical officer at SCP Health and a practicing hospitalist in Missouri, highlights how virtual hospitalists are transforming healthcare by providing 24/7 physician collaboration to support onsite teams, particularly in rural hospitals and during patient surges. Implementing telehospitalists can play a critical role in reducing clinician burnout, improving access to physician expertise, and enhancing emergency department efficiency. Integrating telehospitalists into a care model shows potential to reshape workforce demographics and improve the ability to meet unpredictable demands. Claire explains, "So a hospitalist is typically an internal medicine or family medicine-trained physician who focuses the entirety of their career on hospital medicine. So, taking care of hospitalized patients. They are focused on the end-to-end experience of a patient who is hospitalized. So they are integral in the admission from the emergency department, from the time it is determined the patient needs care within the hospital to the time that they are discharged to their next site of care, whether that be home, a skilled nursing facility, etc. So hospitalists do not focus on outpatient medicine. They collaborate with primary care physicians and care for hospitalized patients." "And what we are seeing is that we are now integrating virtual hospitalists or telehospitalists into workflows to support teams in a variety of situations, including resource shortages or temporary surges in the patient population, so that we can best support the onsite teams and patients." "What we see is that telehospitalists are being utilized when demands exceed onsite capacities, as well as in those rural situations where resources are more scarce. So a telehospitalist changes the dynamic from really an occasional ad hoc contact with advanced practitioners who may be supporting rural practice hospital medicine to reliable collaboration." #SCPHealth #Telehospitalist #RuralHealth #HospitalMedicine #Telemedicine #HealthcareInnovation #ClinicianWellbeing #VirtualCare #24x7Coverage #PatientCare /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42500550

How Telehospitalists Are Expanding Capacity and Coverage for Hospitals with Dr. Claire Smith SCP Health 08/25/2026

How Telehospitalists Are Expanding Capacity and Coverage for Hospitals with Dr. Claire Smith SCP Health Dr. Claire Smith, a regional medical officer at SCP Health and a practicing hospitalist in Missouri, highlights how virtual hospitalists are transforming healthcare by providing 24/7 physician collaboration to support onsite teams, particularly in rural hospitals and during patient surges. Implementing telehospitalists can play a critical role in reducing clinician burnout, improving access to physician expertise, and enhancing emergency department efficiency. Integrating telehospitalists into a care model shows potential to reshape workforce demographics and improve the ability to meet unpredictable demands. Claire explains, "So a hospitalist is typically an internal medicine or family medicine-trained physician who focuses the entirety of their career on hospital medicine. So, taking care of hospitalized patients. They are focused on the end-to-end experience of a patient who is hospitalized. So they are integral in the admission from the emergency department, from the time it is determined the patient needs care within the hospital to the time that they are discharged to their next site of care, whether that be home, a skilled nursing facility, etc. So hospitalists do not focus on outpatient medicine. They collaborate with primary care physicians and care for hospitalized patients." "And what we are seeing is that we are now integrating virtual hospitalists or telehospitalists into workflows to support teams in a variety of situations, including resource shortages or temporary surges in the patient population, so that we can best support the onsite teams and patients." "What we see is that telehospitalists are being utilized when demands exceed onsite capacities, as well as in those rural situations where resources are more scarce. So a telehospitalist changes the dynamic from really an occasional ad hoc contact with advanced practitioners who may be supporting rural practice hospital medicine to reliable collaboration." #SCPHealth #Telehospitalist #RuralHealth #HospitalMedicine #Telemedicine #HealthcareInnovation #ClinicianWellbeing #VirtualCare #24x7Coverage #PatientCare /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42500535

Using Neuroimaging and Deep Brain Stimulation to Provide Durable Relief for Severe Treatment-Resistant Depression with Dr. Mark George TRANSCEND Study TRANSCRIPT 08/25/2026

Using Neuroimaging and Deep Brain Stimulation to Provide Durable Relief for Severe Treatment-Resistant Depression with Dr. Mark George TRANSCEND Study TRANSCRIPT Dr. Mark George is the principal psychiatric investigator of Abbott's TRANSCEND study and also a professor of psychiatry at MUSC Health Institute of Psychiatry. The TRANSCEND study represents a paradigm shift in depression treatment by investigating deep brain stimulation as a potential solution for treatment-resistant depression. This research involves surgically implanting a device that delivers targeted electrical stimulation to specific brain circuits. By reframing depression as a brain disorder rather than a chemical imbalance, this study emphasizes the biological nature of depression, offering an alternative to a condition with limited options. Mark explains, "There are a lot of people, unfortunately, maybe a quarter of the people with depression who lead lives of misery where the medications and talking just don't get them back on their game. And so that's what we call treatment-resistant depression. And that's where I've spent my career trying to come up with new treatments." "Well, so if the medications aren't working, you can try even more medicines, but the odds go way down. So there's a whole class of things where we actually stimulate the brain to try to, non-invasively and not using a pill, get in and change circuits in the brain. And those have started to really transform the care of treatment-resistant depression. There are several of them that are both non-invasive, and then others that are invasive." "But the real holy grail would be for us to find the circuit or the spot in the brain and be able to put something there and then fix it. And then there you go, you live your life, and it would not be a pill that you have to take every day. And it would not have systemic side effects like medications. It wouldn't cause weight gain, sexual side effects, those kinds of things. So the real interest in the deep brain stimulation study that Abbott TRANSCEND is: “Could we stick a wire in the area of the brain that's not working right and pass very, very small amounts of electricity and really wake somebody up and get them out of their depression?” #Abbott #DBS #TRANSCENDstudy #TRD #TreatmentReistantDepression /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42500490

Using Neuroimaging and Deep Brain Stimulation to Provide Durable Relief for Severe Treatment-Resistant Depression with Dr. Mark George TRANSCEND Study 08/25/2026

Using Neuroimaging and Deep Brain Stimulation to Provide Durable Relief for Severe Treatment-Resistant Depression with Dr. Mark George TRANSCEND Study Dr. Mark George is the principal psychiatric investigator of Abbott's TRANSCEND study and also a professor of psychiatry at MUSC Health Institute of Psychiatry. The TRANSCEND study represents a paradigm shift in depression treatment by investigating deep brain stimulation as a potential solution for treatment-resistant depression. This research involves surgically implanting a device that delivers targeted electrical stimulation to specific brain circuits. By reframing depression as a brain disorder rather than a chemical imbalance, this study emphasizes the biological nature of depression, offering an alternative to a condition with limited options. Mark explains, "There are a lot of people, unfortunately, maybe a quarter of the people with depression who lead lives of misery where the medications and talking just don't get them back on their game. And so that's what we call treatment-resistant depression. And that's where I've spent my career trying to come up with new treatments." "Well, so if the medications aren't working, you can try even more medicines, but the odds go way down. So there's a whole class of things where we actually stimulate the brain to try to, non-invasively and not using a pill, get in and change circuits in the brain. And those have started to really transform the care of treatment-resistant depression. There are several of them that are both non-invasive, and then others that are invasive." "But the real holy grail would be for us to find the circuit or the spot in the brain and be able to put something there and then fix it. And then there you go, you live your life, and it would not be a pill that you have to take every day. And it would not have systemic side effects like medications. It wouldn't cause weight gain, sexual side effects, those kinds of things. So the real interest in the deep brain stimulation study that Abbott TRANSCEND is: “Could we stick a wire in the area of the brain that's not working right and pass very, very small amounts of electricity and really wake somebody up and get them out of their depression?” #Abbott #DBS #TRANSCENDstudy #TRD #TreatmentReistantDepression /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42500480

Precision Exposome Biomarkers from Hair Reveal Exposure to Toxic Elements with Dr. Manish Arora LinusBio TRANSCRIPT 08/24/2026

Precision Exposome Biomarkers from Hair Reveal Exposure to Toxic Elements with Dr. Manish Arora LinusBio TRANSCRIPT Dr. Manish Arora, CEO at LinusBio, has developed an innovative approach to precision medicine through the Traced test, which measures exposure to trace elements and environmental toxins using hair biomarkers. The technology analyzes a small hair sample and can measure chemicals that enter the bloodstream and deposit in the hair as it grows. This exposome-based test identifies exposure patterns through longitudinal monitoring and provides a precise method to measure environmental impacts, unlike genomic biomarkers, and offers actionable guidance for reducing toxic exposure. Manish explains, "So we like using hair for many reasons. One is we can collect it very easily at home. All you need is a pair of household scissors, a quick snip, and we only ask you for about three to five strands. We don't need a whole lot. What is amazing about hair is that it can actually give you a daily readout over the past month. And let me share with you how this happens. If you've ever seen a tree that's been cut down and you've seen growth rings in it, we think of them as yearly growth rings." "And here there's a growth ring forming almost every hour. So in fact, if you were able to take a strand of hair one centimeter, you would get a whole month of readout at an hourly resolution. That's like 800 to a thousand sequential blood tests. And that's what we have figured out. So unlike many other tests that just give you one number, we give you your monthly profile. Again, all from just one centimeter of hair." "The Traced test, as its first offering, is looking at essential elements like zinc and copper, but also the toxic metals that so many of us have heard of and are concerned about, like lead, cadmium, and arsenic. So what it does is it measures 15 different trace elements, the good and the bad, gives you an overall score, but gives you a daily profile over the last month. And there are such interesting patterns that we find. We find people who have high exposures every five to six days. And very often, when we speak to them, they're doing something very different on the weekend, which is a source of exposure. So we keep finding these patterns and instead of just saying, "Hey, you are high or low," we can work with them, look at these patterns, and then give them exposure guidance. Simple steps: how to improve your environment, how to reduce your toxic exposures." #LinusBio #TracedTest #PrecisionMedicine #Exposome #DigitalBiomarkers #EnvironmentalHealth #PreventiveCare #HealthcareInnovation #Diagnostics #Toxins #Wellness #HealthTech #Environment /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42500415

Precision Exposome Biomarkers from Hair Reveal Exposure to Toxic Elements with Dr. Manish Arora LinusBio 08/24/2026

Precision Exposome Biomarkers from Hair Reveal Exposure to Toxic Elements with Dr. Manish Arora LinusBio Dr. Manish Arora, CEO at LinusBio, has developed an innovative approach to precision medicine through the Traced test, which measures exposure to trace elements and environmental toxins using hair biomarkers. The technology analyzes a small hair sample and can measure chemicals that enter the bloodstream and deposit in the hair as it grows. This exposome-based test identifies exposure patterns through longitudinal monitoring and provides a precise method to measure environmental impacts, unlike genomic biomarkers, and offers actionable guidance for reducing toxic exposure. Manish explains, "So we like using hair for many reasons. One is we can collect it very easily at home. All you need is a pair of household scissors, a quick snip, and we only ask you for about three to five strands. We don't need a whole lot. What is amazing about hair is that it can actually give you a daily readout over the past month. And let me share with you how this happens. If you've ever seen a tree that's been cut down and you've seen growth rings in it, we think of them as yearly growth rings." "And here there's a growth ring forming almost every hour. So in fact, if you were able to take a strand of hair one centimeter, you would get a whole month of readout at an hourly resolution. That's like 800 to a thousand sequential blood tests. And that's what we have figured out. So unlike many other tests that just give you one number, we give you your monthly profile. Again, all from just one centimeter of hair." "The Traced test, as its first offering, is looking at essential elements like zinc and copper, but also the toxic metals that so many of us have heard of and are concerned about, like lead, cadmium, and arsenic. So what it does is it measures 15 different trace elements, the good and the bad, gives you an overall score, but gives you a daily profile over the last month. And there are such interesting patterns that we find. We find people who have high exposures every five to six days. And very often, when we speak to them, they're doing something very different on the weekend, which is a source of exposure. So we keep finding these patterns and instead of just saying, "Hey, you are high or low," we can work with them, look at these patterns, and then give them exposure guidance. Simple steps: how to improve your environment, how to reduce your toxic exposures." #LinusBio #TracedTest #PrecisionMedicine #Exposome #DigitalBiomarkers #EnvironmentalHealth #PreventiveCare #HealthcareInnovation #Diagnostics #Toxins #Wellness #HealthTech #Environment /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42500380

Using Breakthrough Biopreservation to Extend Viability and Availability of Organs for Transplants with Xiaoxi Wei X-Therma TRANSCRIPT 08/24/2026

Using Breakthrough Biopreservation to Extend Viability and Availability of Organs for Transplants with Xiaoxi Wei X-Therma TRANSCRIPT Xiaoxi Wei, CEO and Co-Founder of X-Therma, is revolutionizing organ transplantation by extending the preservation time of donor organs through advanced biopreservation technology. This approach addresses the gap in organ transplantation that exists because of limitations of cold storage, which constrains the hours of viability of an organ and results in over 50% of donated organs going unused. By enabling longer preservation times, X-Therma increases organ availability and organ quality, expands geographic access to organs, and enhances donor-recipient matching. Xiaoxi explains, "X-Therma is trying to make time available for all the patients who are waiting for lifesaving living medicines, such as organs for transplantation, cell and gene therapy for curing cancer, and tissue engineering products for rejuvenating your body parts. So all of those so-called living medicines with the current technology, they do not have a way to be put off the shelf, but we are changing that. At X-Therma, we firmly believe biological time is no longer fixed. So by advancing safe biopreservation, we make them last for an unprecedented amount of time. So those lifesaving organs can be off the shelf. For example, at the organ site, we do about 27,000 kidney transplants per year, and roughly 100,000 patients are waiting on the official waiting list." "But actually, the real reason we have such a gap is not that we don't have enough organs - 60% of us are willing to donate organs to save others' lives. The biggest issue here is that we cannot keep those organs alive for more than 24 hours at a time. So, long story short, we're changing this time from less than a day to days for lifesaving organs. So you will have time, and then we can increase the organ volume for transplants and save more patients from waiting." #XTherma #TransplantInnovation #OrganPreservation #KidneyTransplant #HealthcareInnovation #Surgery #Nephrology #Biotech #PatientOutcomes /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42500300

Using Breakthrough Biopreservation to Extend Viability and Availability of Organs for Transplants with Xiaoxi Wei X-Therma 08/24/2026

Using Breakthrough Biopreservation to Extend Viability and Availability of Organs for Transplants with Xiaoxi Wei X-Therma Xiaoxi Wei, CEO and Co-Founder of X-Therma, is revolutionizing organ transplantation by extending the preservation time of donor organs through advanced biopreservation technology. This approach addresses the gap in organ transplantation that exists because of limitations of cold storage, which constrains the hours of viability of an organ and results in over 50% of donated organs going unused. By enabling longer preservation times, X-Therma increases organ availability and organ quality, expands geographic access to organs, and enhances donor-recipient matching. Xiaoxi explains, "X-Therma is trying to make time available for all the patients who are waiting for lifesaving living medicines, such as organs for transplantation, cell and gene therapy for curing cancer, and tissue engineering products for rejuvenating your body parts. So all of those so-called living medicines with the current technology, they do not have a way to be put off the shelf, but we are changing that. At X-Therma, we firmly believe biological time is no longer fixed. So by advancing safe biopreservation, we make them last for an unprecedented amount of time. So those lifesaving organs can be off the shelf. For example, at the organ site, we do about 27,000 kidney transplants per year, and roughly 100,000 patients are waiting on the official waiting list." "But actually, the real reason we have such a gap is not that we don't have enough organs - 60% of us are willing to donate organs to save others' lives. The biggest issue here is that we cannot keep those organs alive for more than 24 hours at a time. So, long story short, we're changing this time from less than a day to days for lifesaving organs. So you will have time, and then we can increase the organ volume for transplants and save more patients from waiting." #XTherma #TransplantInnovation #OrganPreservation #KidneyTransplant #HealthcareInnovation #Surgery #Nephrology #Biotech #PatientOutcomes /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42500270

Smart Hearing Aids Hearing Loss and Cognitive Decline with Dr. Rachel Artsma Hear.com TRANSCRIPT 08/20/2026

Smart Hearing Aids Hearing Loss and Cognitive Decline with Dr. Rachel Artsma Hear.com TRANSCRIPT Dr. Rachel Artsma, lead audiologist at hear.com offers comprehensive hearing care services and she emphasizes how dramatically hearing aids have evolved from earlier generations. Bluetooth connectivity, rechargeable batteries, and real-time environmental adjustments are now being driven by smart chips in the devices, which also allow direct streaming of phone calls, music, and driving directions. Untreated hearing loss can lead to auditory deprivation, in which the brain does not receive clear auditory input, resulting in increased cognitive strain and a decline in cognitive function. Rachel explains, "Hearing loss can happen really gradually, and so oftentimes it can go unnoticed. What we do is we like to educate people on the early signs of hearing loss, such as asking others to repeat themselves, turning the television up, or family members noticing it before them. And then when it comes to the actual hearing test, we do a full comprehensive audiological evaluation. In that audiological evaluation, we sometimes see signs of other health issues. We do make referrals to other specialists such as ear, nose, and throat physicians if we're seeing that something else might be happening in the health of that person." "I honestly feel like one of the most exciting developments in hearing healthcare is our growing understanding of the hearing-brain connection. We really don't hear with our ears. We really hear with our brain. Our ears are collecting the sound, but our brain is really giving that sound meaning. So what can happen if we don't treat hearing loss and it goes untreated is something called auditory deprivation, which essentially just means we're depriving the brain of the sound that it's looking for. And what happens is the brain then has to work a little harder and devote extra resources to decoding that speech and sound. And that extra effort is what can lead to some strain on other cognitive functions such as memory. So we see that that strain, because we hear with our brain, can lead to some of those other cognitive functions declining." #HearingCom #HearingHealth #Teleaudiology #Audiology #HearingAids #DigitalHealth #CognitiveHealth #PatientCare #HearingCareInnovation #HearingWellness /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42384830

Smart Hearing Aids Hearing Loss and Cognitive Decline with Dr. Rachel Artsma Hear.com 08/20/2026

Smart Hearing Aids Hearing Loss and Cognitive Decline with Dr. Rachel Artsma Hear.com Dr. Rachel Artsma, lead audiologist at hear.com offers comprehensive hearing care services and she emphasizes how dramatically hearing aids have evolved from earlier generations. Bluetooth connectivity, rechargeable batteries, and real-time environmental adjustments are now being driven by smart chips in the devices, which also allow direct streaming of phone calls, music, and driving directions. Untreated hearing loss can lead to auditory deprivation, in which the brain does not receive clear auditory input, resulting in increased cognitive strain and a decline in cognitive function. Rachel explains, "Hearing loss can happen really gradually, and so oftentimes it can go unnoticed. What we do is we like to educate people on the early signs of hearing loss, such as asking others to repeat themselves, turning the television up, or family members noticing it before them. And then when it comes to the actual hearing test, we do a full comprehensive audiological evaluation. In that audiological evaluation, we sometimes see signs of other health issues. We do make referrals to other specialists such as ear, nose, and throat physicians if we're seeing that something else might be happening in the health of that person." "I honestly feel like one of the most exciting developments in hearing healthcare is our growing understanding of the hearing-brain connection. We really don't hear with our ears. We really hear with our brain. Our ears are collecting the sound, but our brain is really giving that sound meaning. So what can happen if we don't treat hearing loss and it goes untreated is something called auditory deprivation, which essentially just means we're depriving the brain of the sound that it's looking for. And what happens is the brain then has to work a little harder and devote extra resources to decoding that speech and sound. And that extra effort is what can lead to some strain on other cognitive functions such as memory. So we see that that strain, because we hear with our brain, can lead to some of those other cognitive functions declining." #HearingCom #HearingHealth #Teleaudiology #Audiology #HearingAids #DigitalHealth #CognitiveHealth #PatientCare #HearingCareInnovation #HearingWellness /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42384805

Parkinson’s Disease Management Transformed by AI-Powered Longitudinal Tracking with Amy Gordon Franzen Rune Labs TRANSCRIPT 08/19/2026

Parkinson’s Disease Management Transformed by AI-Powered Longitudinal Tracking with Amy Gordon Franzen Rune Labs TRANSCRIPT Amy Gordon Franzen, CEO of Rune Labs, developed StrivePD, a patient-facing app that supports those with Parkinson's disease by passively tracking their movements and collecting longitudinal data on tremor, gait, and activity patterns. The technology addresses a critical gap in neurodegenerative disease management by providing continuous, objective data that enables patients and clinicians to make more informed treatment decisions. There is also an AI chatbot that allows patients to interrogate their data and receive personalized insights while enabling clinicians and drug developers to optimize treatment strategies and accelerate development of therapies. Amy explains, "Rune Labs has been around for about seven years. We have consumer-facing and patient-facing technologies, with a core product called StrivePD. StrivePD helps patients with Parkinson's disease better manage their symptoms by passively tracking their movements, ingesting data that comes in naturally through HealthKit, and asking those patients questions so they can go back and forth with the app, better understand their disease, and provide actionable insights against it." "If you think about the way that neurodegenerative diseases are treated, and Parkinson's is one of the best examples, historically, the disease has been treated as a moment-in-time disease. You see a clinician every six months if you're lucky, and that clinician is observing you in the moment. They're asking you about how you have been, and then they're applying a fairly well-researched, precise treatment to that very subjective point in time. What Rune Labs is out to solve is twofold. One, we are bringing objective longitudinal data to that discussion. So rather than rely on that point in time, you as a patient can now bring a report in that shows what the last six months have looked like, in fact, as your movements go throughout the day. And so your clinician can see tremor, dyskinesia, can see how it changes with time, and can see how it changes with your medication schedule." #RuneLabs #ParkinsonsDisease #DigitalHealth #BrainData #PrecisionMedicine #Neurology #AIinHealthcare #StrivePD /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42384735

Parkinson’s Disease Management Transformed by AI-Powered Longitudinal Tracking with Amy Gordon Franzen Rune Labs 08/19/2026

Parkinson’s Disease Management Transformed by AI-Powered Longitudinal Tracking with Amy Gordon Franzen Rune Labs Amy Gordon Franzen, CEO of Rune Labs, developed StrivePD, a patient-facing app that supports those with Parkinson's disease by passively tracking their movements and collecting longitudinal data on tremor, gait, and activity patterns. The technology addresses a critical gap in neurodegenerative disease management by providing continuous, objective data that enables patients and clinicians to make more informed treatment decisions. There is also an AI chatbot that allows patients to interrogate their data and receive personalized insights while enabling clinicians and drug developers to optimize treatment strategies and accelerate development of therapies. Amy explains, "Rune Labs has been around for about seven years. We have consumer-facing and patient-facing technologies, with a core product called StrivePD. StrivePD helps patients with Parkinson's disease better manage their symptoms by passively tracking their movements, ingesting data that comes in naturally through HealthKit, and asking those patients questions so they can go back and forth with the app, better understand their disease, and provide actionable insights against it." "If you think about the way that neurodegenerative diseases are treated, and Parkinson's is one of the best examples, historically, the disease has been treated as a moment-in-time disease. You see a clinician every six months if you're lucky, and that clinician is observing you in the moment. They're asking you about how you have been, and then they're applying a fairly well-researched, precise treatment to that very subjective point in time. What Rune Labs is out to solve is twofold. One, we are bringing objective longitudinal data to that discussion. So rather than rely on that point in time, you as a patient can now bring a report in that shows what the last six months have looked like, in fact, as your movements go throughout the day. And so your clinician can see tremor, dyskinesia, can see how it changes with time, and can see how it changes with your medication schedule." #RuneLabs #ParkinsonsDisease #DigitalHealth #BrainData #PrecisionMedicine #Neurology #AIinHealthcare #StrivePD /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42384695

Gene Therapy for Treating Root Cause of Severe Food Allergies with Dr. Sid Kerkar AllerGene AI TRANSCRIPT 08/19/2026

Gene Therapy for Treating Root Cause of Severe Food Allergies with Dr. Sid Kerkar AllerGene AI TRANSCRIPT Dr. Sid Kerkar, CEO and Founder of AllerGene AI Therapeutics, is developing in vivo gene therapy for severe food allergies, where symptoms are currently treated rather than root causes. AllerGene AI is targeting mast cells, which are immune cells responsible for triggering allergic reactions, and their approach represents a significant opportunity to prevent these reactions. Unlike traditional cell therapy, this technology modifies cells within the body to recognize and eliminate armed mast cells, allowing the body to repopulate with non-reactive cells, preventing severe allergic reactions and establishing long-lasting immune tolerance. Sid explains, "Today, millions of people suffer from food allergies in the US and worldwide. And that's a spectrum from just the mild symptoms that cause discomfort to the really severe kind, which can lead to life-threatening issues. And for us as a company, that's where we focus and where the biggest need is to come up with new treatments that can help prevent these life-threatening events from happening." "A lot of it is symptom management, and EpiPens are a staple. Everyone who has had a severe reaction or may have one has to carry one around that can help prevent you from having the cardiac and lung issues that cause death. But there's no real treatment that can prevent someone from having these severe reactions. And this is where we're focused: treating the root cause of these severe reactions in the hope that we can develop a treatment that can prevent these terrible reactions from happening." "The triggers can be wide-ranging, from many different food products such as peanuts or seafood or milk. It could be anything really that can sensitize one to have a reaction. And even beyond food, all other types of allergens like bee stings can cause a reaction. We know the cell type that is central to these reactions, and it's a cell type called a mast cell." #AllerGeneAI #MastCells #AllergicReaction #SevereAllergy #FoodAllergy #AllergyGeneTherapy #GeneTherapy /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42384610

Gene Therapy for Treating Root Cause of Severe Food Allergies with Dr. Sid Kerkar AllerGene AI 08/19/2026

Gene Therapy for Treating Root Cause of Severe Food Allergies with Dr. Sid Kerkar AllerGene AI Dr. Sid Kerkar, CEO and Founder of AllerGene AI Therapeutics, is developing in vivo gene therapy for severe food allergies, where symptoms are currently treated rather than root causes. AllerGene AI is targeting mast cells, which are immune cells responsible for triggering allergic reactions, and their approach represents a significant opportunity to prevent these reactions. Unlike traditional cell therapy, this technology modifies cells within the body to recognize and eliminate armed mast cells, allowing the body to repopulate with non-reactive cells, preventing severe allergic reactions and establishing long-lasting immune tolerance. Sid explains, "Today, millions of people suffer from food allergies in the US and worldwide. And that's a spectrum from just the mild symptoms that cause discomfort to the really severe kind, which can lead to life-threatening issues. And for us as a company, that's where we focus and where the biggest need is to come up with new treatments that can help prevent these life-threatening events from happening." "A lot of it is symptom management, and EpiPens are a staple. Everyone who has had a severe reaction or may have one has to carry one around that can help prevent you from having the cardiac and lung issues that cause death. But there's no real treatment that can prevent someone from having these severe reactions. And this is where we're focused: treating the root cause of these severe reactions in the hope that we can develop a treatment that can prevent these terrible reactions from happening." "The triggers can be wide-ranging, from many different food products such as peanuts or seafood or milk. It could be anything really that can sensitize one to have a reaction. And even beyond food, all other types of allergens like bee stings can cause a reaction. We know the cell type that is central to these reactions, and it's a cell type called a mast cell." #AllerGeneAI #MastCells #AllergicReaction #SevereAllergy #FoodAllergy #AllergyGeneTherapy #GeneTherapy /episode/index/show/empoweredpatient/id/42384595

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