Most young people now expect to find services online, including support for their emotional wellbeing. — While face-to-face counselling is a great way to address mental health issues, many people, especially children and young people are unable to access such services. Kooth is a digital platform for children and young people to get free, safe and anonymous mental health support that’s developed by XenZone, a pioneer…

More and more healthcare professionals in the UK are turning to Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger to communicate at work. — Since the 1960s and even till today, doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff in the UK are still expected to communicate at work via radio pagers, which is why most of them have switched to mobile instant messaging apps. But the problem with these apps is that the patient data…

A physician’s time should be spent diagnosing and treating patients rather than spending hours pouring over a patient’s test data. — While medical tests like electrocardiograms (or ECGs) are easy to record, they can be complex and time-consuming to interpret due to the many patterns and abnormalities that can be present in the data — and physicians have to remember and recognise each one of them.

Things like staircases, escalators and lifts often make navigating indoors difficult for visually impaired people. — But what if it was possible for a blind person to step off a train and get from the station’s platform to a coffees shop on the first floor, all by themselves? …

More and more people are going on social networks to share their problems and get emotional support. — At best, they get a little encouragement from their peers or strangers on the internet. However, it’s not unusual for posts like these to receive backlash or become ignored, creating even more emotional distress for the person who’s already feeling down. But what if this was never the case? In…

Virtual reality isn’t just for video games, it’s now being used to cure phobias too. — One of the best ways to help people get over their fear of something is to expose them to it. …

The rapid progression of healthcare means that it’s more important than ever for hospitals to understand how they should evolve. — But even with abundant access to their own data, it’s often not the biggest priority for hospitals to engage in strategic planning, which could make all the difference in helping them to maximise growth and better serve the needs of their patient population. Thanks to Stratasan’s software and services, it’s…

In designing and building better cities, shouldn’t we involve the most important stakeholder — the people who live in them? — Manchester is becoming a city that values the opinions of its citizens to co-design a smarter and better-connected city. From businesses and jobs to better healthcare and transport, the CityVerve project in Manchester aims to engage and empower citizens and eventually create a blueprint for smart cities worldwide.

As smartphones, wearables and vital sign sensors reach technical maturity, it’s becoming increasingly possible to accurately monitor and manage health without a trip to the doctor’s office. That’s big news for patients, customers and healthcare practitioners alike, and has ramifications far beyond Silicon Valley: Europe is predicted to be the…