At a time when most of the innovation for cancer treatment is clinician-facing, an updated version of an app designed to help cancer patients navigate the complexities of chemotherapy treatment is being rolled out for iOS devices. The launch of chemoWave comes six months after a soft launch last year, according to a press release from the developers.
Treatment Technologies and Insights LLC Cofounder Matt Lashey told MobiHealthNews that the chemoWave app is designed to be more than a symptom tracker and is based on his partner Ric Grenell’s experience receiving treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Lashey’s background in data collection helped him take notice of and record Grenell’s response to chemo, including side effects, appetite, diet and other factors was provided to physicians who were able to use those observations to adjust Grenell’s care plan.
Lashey is credited with developing chemoWave. He explained how the app functioned to MobiHealthNews.
Our technology is much more than a symptom tracker — chemoWave is a virtual advocate that enables patients and caregivers to analyze the entire treatment experience outside the clinical setting (including meds, meals, symptoms, side effects, activities and other experiences) and then it goes further to uniquely analyze the resulting patterns and correlations, Lashey said.
The app is designed to spot patterns and offer insights to payers, health systems, clinical researchers and pharma companies, according to chemoWave’s website. The company is currently working with clinical researchers to apply the app to studies and healthcare providers are assessing the app’s benefits, according to MobiHealthNews.
The updated app includes the ability to more easily share data on social media and automated user data aggregation with Apple Health, including fitness data. Data on 470 cancer medications are also integrated with auto-fill, pop-up information, providing users with information on side effect and medication reminders. It also includes real-time targeted symptom insights from Cancer.Net, according to the press release.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
In the future, the company sees scope for extending the conditions the underlying data collection and analysis tool could be applied to such as Type 2 diabetes, kidney dialysis, and IVF treatment.
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