A combination of newer treatments, better diagnostics, and earlier interventions means more people live with and are treated for cancer than ever before. Although in terms of scientific breakthrough, this is clearly positive, clinical pathways and the systems in place to deliver these treatments have not much changed for 20 years. Embracing technology must be part of the solution to improve efficiency, to safely deliver treatments and improve patient’s experience with oncology care.
This is the first, in a three-phase study conducted at the Ysbyty Gwynedd’s Oncology Unit with patients undergoing anticancer treatment.
The ADRE-CC (Adopting Digital Remote eCare) study enrolled forty-eight randomly selected patients with cancer – 26 participants were male and 22 female (Patients’ average age was 65 years from a range, 31-80 years) who were given a wearable device connected to a bespoke smartphone application designed by Aparito and funded by NHSX Techforce 19 and SMART Cymru as part of their COVID response fund.
Objective measurements of spot-check SpO2 and continuous heart rate and physical activity were collected using the wearable device. Any identified potential COVID-like symptoms were assessed daily for subjective deterioration through the mobile application with an alert and notification sent to patients to complete. Vital sign measurements from the device and patient-reported symptoms were collated and displayed within a central easy-to-use web-based dashboard for responsible clinicians and healthcare professionals to assess.
Developing bespoke monitoring systems for individual patients undergoing systemic anticancer therapy will become standard of care eventually. The first phase implemented rapidly during the viral crisis has offered us valuable insight into the practicalities of implementing a system as we move to more comprehensive deployments.
Authors: Sandra Komarzynski, Dipl. Ing., MSc1; Nicholas I. Wreglesworth, MBBS2,3; Dawn Griffiths, NP2; Leandro Pecchia, PhD4; Christian P. Subbe, MD3,5; Stephen F. Hughes, BSc (Hons), MPhil, PhD, CSci6; Elin H. Davies, RN, BSc, MSc, PhD1; and Pasquale F. Innominato, MD, PhD2,7,8