Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award to study video-based technology
BALTIMORE, MD. (November 20, 2015)
Baltimore, MD | November 20, 2015 – emocha’s application miDOT (mobile internet Directly Observed Therapy) has won the SBIR award from the NIH. The study will focus on Tuberculosis (TB) patients at four public health departments across Maryland. Each health department will gather data on usability, patient adherence, and cost savings of the asynchronous smartphone and web application. The data will be used to improve the miDOT system.
The worldwide standard for TB care requires direct observation of therapy (DOT). While DOT results in very high medication adherence levels, the standard is very costly to the system and burdensome to patients, who either travel to the clinic or receive a home visit for every dose.
miDOT empowers patients, while saving time and costs for providers. Patients video-records themselves taking their medication using the miDOT smartphone application and reports any side effects. Public health workers assess the video using the emocha web portal, which provides adherence analytics. Automated notifications and alerts keep patients on track and healthcare workers informed of important patient-reported events.
miDOT’s asynchronous approach, also referred to as “store-and-forward”, dramatically reduces the need for the more than 100 in-person appointments TB patients are required to schedule with public health departments during their treatment.
miDOT has already been implemented in Harris County (TX) and Baltimore (MD); the efficacy of miDOT is being assessed in ongoing clinical studies in Denver (CO), Sydney, Australia and soon at two sites in India. “There is widespread interest in video-based approaches to DOT for diseases like Hepatitis C and TB,” said emocha CEO, Sebastian Seiguer. “This research study will provide data on the feasibility, cost, and impact on adherence of the miDOT system within public health TB programs in Maryland,” Seiguer added.
emocha will provide live demos of miDOT and other platform applications at this year’s Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cape Town, South Africa starting December 2nd.
About emocha Mobile Health
emocha empowers every patient to take every dose of medication through video technology and scalable human engagement. Patients use a smartphone application to video record themselves taking their medication. Providers or emocha Adherence Coaches use a secure web portal to assess adherence and engage with patients. The platform is being used by public health departments, clinical trials, hospitals, health centers, and managed care organizations to radically improve medication adherence for patients with tuberculosis, opioid use disorder, hepatitis C, diabetes, and other chronic and infectious diseases. Learn more at www.emocha.com.
National Institutes of Health Statement
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute On Minority Health And Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R43MD010521. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Contact: Morad Elmi | email: mmendes@emocha.com | phone: 410.928.4016
