Fruit Street Telehealth Platform Selected for Clinical Trial to Reduce Cognitive Decline andDementia Risk

NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Fruit Street Health, a digital health and telemedicine company, announced today that its platform has been selected by a research team at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), an affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare, to study different ways to improve brain healthy behaviors in individuals at risk for cognitive decline and dementia.

Over 5.8 million people in the United States alone have Alzheimer disease or related dementias (ADRDs), conditions which carry vast economic, societal, and personal burdens for health systems and families. Research has shown that up to 1/3 of the risk of ADRDs may be reduced by adopting brain healthy behaviors, including aerobic exercise, a Mediterranean diet, and engaging in socially and cognitively stimulating activities. Even while significant pharmaceutical research continues in efforts to delay or prevent dementia, the medical community, today, has evidence that lifestyle interventions are effective at reducing risk, in addition to having myriad benefits to overall health. "There is a giant gap between our knowledge of the behaviors that reduce dementia risk and our application of this knowledge in the delivery of care" said Dr. Seth Gale, investigator and neurologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Neurologists and primary care providers at the Brigham are planning a 6-month pilot study of older patients who are at a higher risk for dementia compared to their peers. Health coaches, allied with study participants' providers, will employ Fruit Street's digital platform to educate and motivate participants to achieve positive changes in brain healthy behaviors. In the study, coaches will take advantage of the platform's fitness activity tracking, photographing of dietary intake, and two-way video and mobile messaging to guide participants in reaching individualized lifestyle goals. Measures of quality of life, sleep, cognitive function, physical activity, and diet among others, will be tracked over the 6-month study.

"We are excited to be contributing to this effort at Brigham and Women's, where technology will be used directly to study the implementation of treatment recommendations," said Laurence Girard, CEO of Fruit Street Health. "Dementia is a major public health burden and we are committed to finding innovative ways to help fight it."

Fruit Street Health is a digital health and telemedicine company which currently licenses its software to healthcare professionals who wish to set up a virtual practice. It was the first company to deliver the Center for Disease Control & Prevention's (CDC's) National Diabetes Prevention Program ("DPP"), which has complimentary goals to those in the dementia risk reduction study being planned at BWH. Fruit Street's HIPAA-compliant telehealth software is possible through a joint venture agreement with VSee, the world's largest telemedicine video engine with more than three million users. Fruit Street and VSee collaborated to build a telemedicine product that helps healthcare providers conduct HIPAA compliant video calls and monitor the diet and lifestyle of patients using wearable devices and mobile applications. VSee is considered the gold standard for HIPAA compliant video conferencing in the telemedicine industry and offers the most bandwidth efficient video software in the world.

SOURCE Fruit Street Health