Market researchers state the current value of the global digital therapeutics market is $4.2 billion. It’s not only significantly valuable; it’s also one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide.
The market’s growth trends upward as people are increasingly comfortable using apps and digital products to improve their health.
Moreover, the rapid evolution of computing, sensing, imaging, and analytics technology makes digital therapeutics—or, DTx—both more effective and less expensive with each passing season.
But, that doesn’t mean every DTx investment is wise. To pursue DTx effectively, it’s critical to understand the current landscape in detail.
This lets healthcare industry leaders predict which DTx options will thrive, given the technological, cultural, and legal changes that will likely come to pass in the next few decades.
Discover the pressures and opportunities shaping the next stage of DTx development with this succinct guide.
Digital Therapeutics vs. Digital Health: What is the Future of Digital Care?
Digital health is a broad term for any software application, medical technology, or internet-connected device that aims to help people treat or manage their health.
Within the realm of digital health, digital therapeutics (DTx) is a category of technology that aids the diagnosis and treatment of specific illnesses and conditions.
While some digital health products are widely available, prescription digital therapeutics must meet FDA standards. DTx technology must demonstrate it effectively diagnoses or treats a condition in a clinical trial.
The future of the DTx market is bright. But, like many medical devices is fate hinges on the outcomes of clinical trials. This piece examines the current, near-future, and far-future focus on the DTx market as a whole.
DTx Market Focus: Safety, Efficacy, Cost-Effectiveness
Currently, the digital therapeutic technology market is focused on improving efficacy and safety while reducing costs. Four technological channels currently stand out by these metrics:
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Clinical decision support
- Smart medical devices and implants
- Gamified and virtual reality (VR) therapies
In addition to technological avenues, the DTx market is shaped by new and proposed regulations and processes. It may also shift in response to calls for accelerated clinical trials.
Recently, the Department of Justice began investigating Cerebral, a telehealth startup. They focused on prescribing medications for mental illnesses.
But, it allegedly enabled widespread, inappropriate prescriptions and misdiagnoses—in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.
Due to this high-profile investigation, it seems likely safety and legal concerns will shape digital health clinical testing moving forward. Many of these concerns are looked into by professional groups, including the Digital Therapeutics Alliance.
DTx requires more rigorous evidence of efficacy than a telehealth app. So this barrier to entry will weed other digital health players looking to enter the market.
Artificial Intelligence in DTx
The evolution of artificial intelligence is driving a significant portion of the DTx market. In digital therapeutics, AI can be categorized in three modes:
- Analytics
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
- Machine learning
All three categories can cultivate or support advances in diagnosis and personalized treatment. Most digital therapeutics examples currently undergoing trials use AI to some degree.
AI-Driven Analytics
AI-driven analytics is fueled by big data—extremely large or continually updating datasets. Emerging artificial intelligence tools can process this data to perform predictive analytics.
This type of analytics has a range of DTx applications. For instance, researchers are investigating how AI trained to analyze and categorize sound might support the next generation of hearing aids.
Today, conventional hearing aids simply raise the volume for the wearer. But, AI-driven digital hearing aids could improve the wearer’s auditory processing.
The predictive software could make it easier for the wearer to separate language from background noise and understand speech.
AI-driven analytics can also draw conclusions from information in the form of medical imaging. Already, analytics programs have enhanced and expedited the analysis of brain tumors and cancer diagnoses.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Robotic processing automation (RPA) automates repetitive virtual tasks. Some engineers refer to RPA as “software robotics.”
By integrating RPA into software applications, future DTx programs can streamline much of the paperwork involved in personalized treatment plans. Recent research demonstrates the promise of DTx products with significant automation.
While not all treatment processes can be automated, improved RPA technology enables human practitioners to focus more of their time on nuanced, personalized treatment work.
Machine Learning
Machine learning is a sophisticated form of AI. Once trained, ML systems can work more independently than other AI programs.
Increasingly, developers use ML programs to predict and generate new drug treatment options. Engineers will also likely utilize ML applications to support new decision support and medical device processes.
Advances in Clinical Decision Support
The second major pillar of DTx is clinical decision support. These programs improve the rate of accurate diagnoses and effective treatment plans, both in hospitals and in outpatient settings.
Clinical decision support tools may use AI programs to create predictive models from large datasets. They may also get more comprehensive and accurate data from individual patients.
Current experiments with wearable DTx devices may empower patients with chronic conditions to record experiences throughout the day. At the same time, they gather quantitative data. Clinicians can use this data to effectively adjust a treatment plan in response to the patient’s day-to-day life.
Smarter Medical Devices, Implants
Smart medical devices and implants personalize treatment. Some DTx devices monitor a patient’s biometrics. Then, they administer appropriate doses of a drug or therapy in response.
Others encourage treatment adherence by tailoring messaging to each individual patient.
Biometric Monitoring, Response
Devices that monitor a patient’s biometrics could respond to acute changes with alerts—or even with automatic medication dosing.
A new smart insulin patch is designed to effectively, and automatically administer doses of insulin in response to drops in blood glucose levels. Clinical trials are ongoing.
Another proposed connected device is a smart inhaler. It aims to use biometric readings to determine if the medication is improving the patient’s respiratory function.
A recent study of a rapid blood pressure control device improved patients’ outcomes to a clinically significant degree. The DTx device incorporated machine learning algorithms to predict and respond to patient behavior.
Personalized Treatment, Improved Adherence
DTx devices may improve patient adherence to treatment. They may also improve personalized treatment options.
Personalized treatment options may result from advanced analytics of biometric data. A patient with biomarkers that indicate specific autoimmune diseases may be eligible for targeted treatments.
Moreover, DTx devices may increase treatment adherence. Smart devices may detect if a patient misses a dose of medication and alert them. Or, it can offer pro-adherence encouragement tailored to their lifestyle.
Gamified and VR Therapy
The fourth avenue for DTx is VR technology and therapeutic games. In 2020, researchers ran a pilot study of a VR program designed to treat chronic pain.
While the final results will be published in June 2022, developers are tentatively optimistic. Virtual environments can shift patients’ perceptions of their own bodies or minds.
And a game can reward regular engagement with physical or mental therapy in a way reality may not. By tapping into the human brain’s “neurological reward mechanisms,” therapeutic game developers aim to treat illnesses with games.
JP Boyle & Associates performs executive recruitment for companies developing digital therapeutics products and solutions.
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