Vitality

Personal health and vitality management based on a device-agnostic health service platform

This project will produce and test Vitality, a service created through the integration of existing platforms and a health watch to assist patients at risk for diabetes in managing their own health. The project will show Vitality’s commercial value by gauging its impact on consumers and society as a whole.

Origins

Due to the increasing prevalence of metabolic and lifestyle diseases, there is a need to develop non-invasive, easy-to-use methods to promote personal health and wellbeing. Adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviours, such as regular physical activity, is protective against metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular diseases. New technologies can improve behaviours by allowing real-time monitoring to inform patients.

Team

The consortium is composed of a mix of partners who cover the full value chain and have complementary expertise: Philips is the industrial partner; Achmea is the insurance company; Newcastle University is a key academic partner with their “Changing Health” platform; and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leyden Academy on Vitality and Aging (LAVA) and German Diabetes Center (DZD) are academic and clinical partners.

The project

The project will validate the usefulness of the Vitality system, bringing it closer to release on the market by:

• Developing and assessing the feasibility and usability of the Vitality self-management service in people with diabetes.
• Exploring the system’s potential impact on lifestyle, health and well-being.

Vitality is based on the integration of the Philips health-monitoring watch and two existing services, “Actify” and “Changing Health”. Newcastle University developed “Changing Health”, a validated self-management solution that includes a digital, interactive coaching module specifically aimed at patients with diabetes. It incorporates person-to-person contact and blended learning, and when used with other platforms in Vitality, it helps people monitor their health and adjust their lifestyles accordingly.

The Vitality impact evaluation will be conducted in The Netherlands and Germany. It will focus on consumers’ adherence to the service, the impact of the service on consumer health and wellbeing, and the potential societal impact of the service through long-term reduction of risk of disease.

Impact

Vitality will benefit the consortium partners:

• Newcastle University benefits from validation of the commercial use of their self-management solution;
• Philips will benefit from the potential to increase revenues of its health watch;
• As an insurer, Achmea benefits from reduced healthcare costs.

The larger social benefit is a reduction in diabetes and other metabolic diseases, and the associated costs of those diseases.

Why this is an EIT Health project

Vitality addresses three EIT Health Focus Areas:

• Care Pathways, by supporting prevention to change the course of disease;
• Bringing Care Home, by allowing patients to monitor themselves at home;
• Behavioural Change, by encouraging people at risk of diabetes to adapt healthier lifestyles.