June 1, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – A new CHEO Research Institute study, in collaboration with Mobio Interactive, is underway to examine the feasibility of delivering clinically validated mindfulness therapy for youth through an AI-powered mobile app. The collaboration will also explore whether Mobio’s AmDTx app helps youth better engage with mental health services, and how healthcare providers may leverage the tool for adjunctive therapy and remote patient monitoring. The study is funded in part by the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHNTM).
“With mental health and wellness-related issues reaching an all-time high, especially in young Canadians, it is time to find scalable and objectively quantifiable ways to serve them,” said Dr. Bechara Saab, Mobio Interactive’s CEO & Chief Scientist. “Our mission is to help create a world where anyone, anywhere who is living with mental health issues, has the opportunity to access clinically meaningful support.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the wait times for Canadians seeking mental health support were at an all-time high. The problem has continued to escalate, with a 52% increase in people seeking mental health services during the pandemic, according to The Canadian Mental Health Association.
“CHEO, like many other pediatric hospitals, is experiencing unprecedented demands for mental health services and we must find innovative solutions. This study will provide initial evidence on whether a mindfulness training program delivered using mobile technology is a feasible way of managing distress and promoting resilience for youth waiting for outpatient mental health services at CHEO. If the study shows this new mobile approach to early intervention works, it could be a game changer by identifying an innovative, affordable, and scalable therapeutic tool,” said Dr. Gary Goldfield, Senior Scientist and clinical psychologist at the CHEO Research Institute, who is leading the study alongside Dr. Michael Cheng, co-investigator, and psychiatrist at CHEO.
AmDTx delivers and measures clinically validated psychotherapy. The mobile therapy includes wellness sessions ranging from mindfulness training to music therapy, as well as indication-specific step-by-step programs. Additional features of AmDTx include AI-enabled objective measurements of mental wellbeing using the camera on the mobile device, along with personalisation algorithms that guide the user into a suite of meditations and psycho-education based on effective stress reduction from previous use, as determined by the company’s proprietary digital biomarker extraction and analysis.
By providing funding for this study, OBIO’s EAHN™ program continues to advance health technology innovation and commercialization and help healthcare organizations access innovations that can impact the patient’s journey.
“This project will test both AmDTx’s ability to support youth as they experience increasingly longer wait times for outpatient mental health services, as well as the app’s impact on outcomes during treatment,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO, OBIO®. “We are excited to support this important study that focuses on improving the pressing problem of longer than acceptable wait times for outpatient mental health services in Canada.”
About OBIO®
The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®), a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is prioritizing the evaluation of new technologies through their Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™) to provide solutions. OBIO® is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies, positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace. To learn more, visit: obio.ca.
About Mobio Interactive
Mobio Interactive is a digital health company that is meeting the exploding demand for efficacious mental healthcare with artificial intelligence-powered digital theragnostics. To learn more, visit mobiointeractive.com.
About the CHEO Research Institute
The CHEO Research Institute coordinates the research activities of CHEO and is affiliated with the University of Ottawa. The seven programs of research at CHEO RI focus on a full spectrum of pediatric topics. Key themes include cancer, diabetes, obesity, mental health, emergency medicine, musculoskeletal health, electronic health information and privacy, and genetics of rare disease. At the CHEO Research Institute, discoveries inspire the best life for every child and youth. For more information, visit cheoresearch.ca.
Contacts:
For more information about OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), or if you are interested in joining the Network, please contact:
Bibaswan Ghoshal
Director, Market Acceleration
bibaswanghoshal@obio.ca
For more information about Mobio Interactive, please contact:
Michelle Tjia
Chief of Staff
michelle@mobiointeractive.com
For more information about the CHEO Research Institute study, please contact:
Jennifer Ruff
Manager of Communications
(613) 261-3979
jruff@cheo.on.ca