The establishment of the Digital Health Lab comes in a context of increasing pressure on healthcare. Chronic conditions (diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease) and certain types of cancer are increasing, occurring more often at a younger age and in combination. Together with the aging population, this puts even more pressure on healthcare. Focusing on prevention or a healthy lifestyle is therefore crucial. “With this lab, we from Howest are contributing to the necessary change: from a system that focuses on treatment to an approach that focuses on preventing disease and strengthening a healthy lifestyle,” says coordinator of Digital Health Lab Laurent Degroote. “Digital technology plays a very important role in this, because it offers enormous possibilities.”
App for Zeepreventorium
In the new lab, visitors can become acquainted with existing digital healthcare applications and new innovations in development. Practice-oriented research projects are also being set up. “For example, together with the Zeepreventorium in De Haan, we are developing a smartphone application ReTrack that can better monitor and support patients after completing a rehabilitation process to prevent relapse,” says Laurent Degroote. “In addition, with AppCompass we are building a platform for high-quality lifestyle apps that focus on nutrition and exercise. In this way we want to show users the way in the jungle of lifestyle apps.”
With students
The lab focuses on all professionals who are involved with health and a healthy lifestyle: hospitals, home nursing, general practitioners, pharmacists, physiotherapists, health coaches, technology companies, entrepreneurs, health insurance funds, … “They can come to us to get acquainted with existing applications, but also to jointly develop, test & implement new applications, to lend materials or use our infrastructure. A lot is possible,” says Laurent Degroote. “The students of Sports & Exercise and Health Promotion are of course also actively involved in the lab. By connecting many different target groups, we want to help accelerate the implementation of digital preventive solutions.”
Open lab
The lab is located in the Howest campus in Rijselstraat in Bruges. An entire wing has been renovated in the past year. “We have consciously chosen not to hide the Digital Health Lab on the inside of our campus,” says Frederik D’hulster, Managing Director of Howest. “The lab is literally in the shop window, on the street side of Rijselstraat. We reach out to anyone who is interested in participating. The challenges in healthcare are great. It is our ambition, together with many partners, to tackle this social challenge so that people become stronger and better.”
Support from Europe
Europe also strongly believes in digitalization of healthcare. The 1.5 million euro project is also financially supported by the European Union. “The Digital Health Lab offers a concrete solution for a very current need in the healthcare sector: preventing health problems, monitoring patients better and still reducing the workload,” says Thomas de Béthune, representative of the European Commission in Belgium. “It is also a good example of successful collaboration between policy, education, healthcare and entrepreneurship.”
