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Ultrasound: Potential Use as Search and Treatment Tool for the Brain

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Traditionally, health professionals across the world have used ultrasound as a means of monitoring the development of unborn babies and assessing the health of patients’ internal organs. Over the decades, its uses have expanded to evaluate blood flow and check for blockages in arteries and veins, assess joint inflammation and metabolic bone disease, help diagnose abnormal growths, blood clots, gallstones, kidney or bladder stones, and more.

As a tool for interventional therapies, ultrasounds can guide needles for biopsies or tumor treatments, and can image the location of a catheter as it’s inserted into a blood vessel.  Ultrasound scans are generally non-invasive and painless, and can take about 30 minutes. There are some limitations however, such as the fact that ultrasound waves can be disrupted by air or gas, and that ultrasound cannot penetrate bone. 

A new article in the journal PLOS Biology, by researchers from Stanford University, the University of Plymouth, and Attune Neurosciences describe that it has now been demonstrated to offer a non-invasive and precise way of targeting specific areas of the human brain.

Dr Elsa Fouragnan Brain Research & Imaging Centre (BRIC) Computational Neuroscience

Using a technique known as transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) offers the potential to help people with conditions ranging from pain, alcoholism, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and Parkinson’s disease, all without the use of drugs or surgery.

Beyond the treatment, the researchers discuss in the new article how the technology can also be used to temporarily test areas before treating them, serving as a sort of “search and rescue tool for the brain”.

This enables them to find the sources of brain-related issues and disorders prior to treating them, which may be an added resource towards personalized treatments.

Challenges

However, the researchers acknowledge there are still a number of complex challenges that need to be addressed before TUS can be rolled out in healthcare settings – and maybe even homes – on a global scale. And while significant advances have been made to the technology, reaching a point where it can still be effective – but also sustainable from a cost perspective – is still some years away.

Currently, the researchers have developed and are testing a TUS device small and simple enough for people to use them at home following a series of clinical assessments, rather than having to continually go into hospitals or other healthcare settings. According to Dr Keith Murphy, co-founder of Attune Neurosciences and researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine, “There are countless reasons people can’t get to a clinic, whether it’s financial strain or simply not having the time. In the past few years, we’ve made substantial progress towards a device that leverages MRI precision guidance but may still be used safely at home. We’ve always believed that portability was a critical step towards making advanced brain therapies accessible to everyone and we’ve made great strides in demonstrating that it works.”

The researchers further discuss how focused ultrasound can also be integrated with other emerging technologies, for example improving the accuracy and effectiveness of interfaces that enable direct communication between the brain and external devices.

Source: Murphy K, Foragnan L. The future of transcranial ultrasound as a precision brain interface. PLoS Biol 22(10): e3002884. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002884

Technoference

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A recent ‘Letter to the Editor’ to MDEdge from a Maine Pediatrician reminds us that our use of technology that consumes so much of our attention is indeed taking a toll on our human interactions. Dr Willkoff describes two scenarios that troubled him but, as he points out, may also be so ubiquitous that perhaps too many of us accept these as the norm. In one scenario, a family is dining at a restaurant but the two teens were immersed texting with their smartphones and little else. The other vignette described a 3-year old playing with his toys in the sand and his father nearby was solidly ‘glued’ to his laptop and hadn’t said a word to his child.

These vignettes describe what is called “technoference,” a word coined by a doctoral student in human development and family studies at Penn State a decade ago “to describe the everyday intrusions and interruptions in couple interactions that take place due to technology devices and their always-on, ever-present nature.” Although, the original research that triggered the coinage was studying couples, clearly this phenomenon occurs whenever people of any age are together in social situations.

Recent Studies in Early Childhood and Adolescence

Early Childhood Studies

Dr W points out that “technoference in recent studies has been associated with decreased parent-child interaction during early childhood” including a reduced ability to notice and attend to children’s needs, less frequent and lower-quality joint play and conversational interactions, including more negative responses to children’s behavior, and higher risk of child injuries.

Adolescent Studies

In adolescence, adolescent-perceived parental technoference is associated with higher levels of parent-child conflict and lower levels of parental emotional support and warmth. When children’s emotional and physical needs are consistently ignored or inappropriately responded to, they are at risk of developing mental health difficulties, underscoring the need to investigate parental technoference as a potential precipitant of the development of mental health difficulties, such as depression, anxiety, hyperactivity, and inattention.

New JAMA Study

A recent study in JAMA Open Network Pediatrics (A Deneault, et al.) highlights the limitations of these previous studies of technoference in both children and adolescents in that this body of research has been primarily cross-sectional, which hinders the ability to understand the directionality of associations (ie, which comes first, parental technoference or child mental health difficulties?)

A. Deneault and colleagues studied over 1300 emerging adolescents aged 9 to 11 years across 3 assessments (anxiety, attention difficulties and hyperactivity) revealing that higher levels of anxiety symptoms were associated with higher levels of perceived parental technoference later in development. Higher levels of perceived parental technoference were associated with higher levels of inattention and hyperactivity symptoms later in development.

Meaning of Results:  Parent digital technology use that interrupts routine parent-adolescent interactions may be instigated by the emerging adolescents’ levels of anxiety, and parent technoference may also have consequences for emerging adolescents’ inattention and hyperactivity.

Conclusions and Relevance  

Higher levels of emerging adolescent anxiety symptoms were associated with higher levels of perceived parental technoference (but not vice versa). Higher levels of perceived parental technoference were associated with higher levels of emerging adolescent inattention and hyperactivity symptoms (but not vice versa). Substantial gender differences were not identified. It is possible that, despite experiencing different levels and onset of mental health difficulties, boys and girls similarly experience the effects of parental technoference.

This study highlights the complex relations between parental technoference and emerging adolescents’ mental health and highlights the need to address parental technology use when considering emerging adolescents’ well-being. The findings speak to the need to discuss digital technology use and mental health with parents and emerging adolescents as a part of routine care.

Citations

Deneault A, Plamondon A, Neville RD, et al. Perceived Parental Distraction by Technology and Mental Health Among Emerging Adolescents. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(8):e2428261. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.28261
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2822421

Wilkoff WG. Technoference. MDEdge. Pediatric News. Sept 2024.Available at :https://www.mdedge.com/pediatrics/article/270630/mental-health/technoference

New Studies: Teen Smartphone Problems Revisited

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New studies demonstrate that approximately one in five older British teenagers involved in one study displayed problematic phone use (PSU), which resembles an addiction. This can mean they feel panicky or upset when their phone is unavailable, find it difficult to control their screen time and use their phone to the detriment of other meaningful activities.

“Even if we could wave a magic wand and make all smartphones go away, these kids could still have problems overdoing other stuff.”

Research, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, was published in two studies. One, in the journal Acta Paediatrica, surveyed 657 teenagers aged 16 to 18 at five schools across England. The second analysis, published in BMJ Mental Health, studied a smaller group of teenagers for a month: 62 pupils aged 13 to 16 from two London schools.

Teens with PSU were twice as likely to have anxiety, three times more likely to have depressive symptoms and 64 per cent more likely to be insomniacs. Instagram and TikTok were the social media accounts most strongly linked to PSU.

The studies also showed that that teens were keen to find ways to restrict their phone use. The most effective methods were putting their device on “do not disturb” or “airplane mode”, turning off notifications and keeping smartphones out of the bedroom.

Dr Nicola Kalk, senior author on both studies, said the work “does contribute to an accumulation of evidence that suggests that a proportion of teenagers use their smartphone in a way that is starting to look more and more like an addiction”.

Professor Ben Carter, professor of medical statistics at King’s, said: “By revealing the link between problematic use of smartphones and poorer mental health, and demonstrating that young people are aware of this problem and are eager to manage their use, these studies highlight the need for evidence-based interventions to help adolescents struggling with difficult behaviours around their smartphone use.”

Chris Ferguson, professor of psychology at Stetson University, who is quoted above said: “Even if we could wave a magic wand and make all smartphones go away, these kids could still have problems overdoing other stuff. Ultimately, I think this data suggests we do need to reframe our approach to technology.

“There’s little evidence here, or elsewhere, that restricting technology, putting age limits on social media or banning smartphones in schools is helpful in improving teen wellness or academic performance. Technology overuse is best understood as a new symptom of age-old disorders such as depression, anxiety or ADHD, not a new set of problems.

“Further indulging a moral panic over smartphones and social media is unlikely to help any youth.”

Sources:

Kalk NJ, Downs J, Clark B, Carter B. Problematic smartphone use: What can teenagers and parents do to reduce use? Acta Paediatrica. First published: 31 July 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.17365
Carter B, Armed, N, Cassidy O, Pearson O, Calcia M, et al. ‘There’s more to life than staring at a small screen’: a mixed methods cohort study of problematic smartphone use and the relationship to anxiety, depression and sleep in students aged 13–16 years old in the UK. BMJ Mental Health. July 2024. https://mentalhealth.bmj.com/content/27/1/e301115.

Strangers Trust Others More When They Put Down Their Phones

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Smartphones are ubiquitous in modern society. It seems that as soon as we sit down on a bus or wait in a line at the Post Office, the first thing we do is pull out our phones. A number of studies have shown that the average American checks their phones almost 100 times a day and spend more than five hours daily staring at that pocket-sized screen. 

While we may be killing time by scrolling through social media or checking sports scores, a new study published in the Journal of Economic Psychology concludes that our seemingly constant use of the phone may come at a social cost.

The researchers highlight that many adults can remember a time when people taking public transportation or at a gathering would chat or engage others in conversation, whereas now, everyone is “plugged in and looking down.” Generally – no longer socializing.

The Study

For their experiment, they brought groups of six students into a laboratory and had them wait together for 20 minutes.  Some groups were allowed to use phones as usual. For others, they confiscated the phones and made them wait without them. They then broke the students up into pairs to play a simple trust game that gave them the chance to earn more money back by sharing up front—if they trusted the partner to split the final pot rather than pocket it, and if their partner actually did send back money.

Results

Those who didn’t have phones and who also interacted with other people in the waiting room tended to share more up front than those who didn’t interact. Even more significantly, the partners without phones also gave back more than those with phones—and more than they’d received. The researchers attribute this generosity to the trust engendered when people connect with one another. “If you are not looking someone in the eye, you’re almost treating them as less than human—it’s just money,” she says. “But if you’d looked up and smiled and chatted, then you’d developed more of a sense of who this person is. They are no longer a blank slate.”

Conclusions

While our phones undoubtedly connect us to loved ones and others far away, they can also distance us from strangers close at hand, lead researcher Campbell concludes. People might look at their phones in social situations for a number of reasons, including boredom, shyness, or a feeling like others might not want to talk to them. Campbell suggests, however, that by putting away our phones around strangers, we might feel more of a sense of trust that could enrich everyone’s lives.

Children could learn more social skills by giving up their phones during the school day or at summer camp. In a business context, managers might foster a sense of trust by limiting phone usage at certain times, such as orientations, when new hires could be encouraged to drop their phones on the way into the room and pick them up on their way out.

“Obviously, our phones are immensely valuable, but in some situations, it may be more valuable to chat to the person next to you,” she says. “You might be surprised to find they want to chat with you too.”

Source:

Campbell S, Sneezy U. Smartphone use decreases trustworthiness of strangers. Journal of Economic Psychology, Volume 102, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2024.102714.

Do Warning Labels on Social Media Miss the Mark?

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A recent article by Pamela B. Rutledge Ph.D., M.B.A., Professor and Director of the Media Psychology Research Center at Fielding Graduate University, challenges the recent recommendation by Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy who called for warning labels on social media platforms, similar to cigarette packaging.

Dr Rutledge recommends that “digital literacy will protect kids better than fear and restrictions.”

The current mental health crisis among young people is real and few would dispute that many children and adolescents are currently experiencing serious issues dealing with social media. Dr R. highlights that “the emphasis of the proposed warning label emphasizes public concern over empirical evidence, encouraging the troubling trend of ignoring research findings in favor of emotion but most of all, it neglects the preventative power of digital literacy.”

While there is no such thing as the “healthy use of cigarettes.” Social media, however, includes hundreds of platforms with numerous features and widely varying uses (like education, and creating, and sharing content). “Like swimming pools, social media poses a risk when kids don’t know how to use it safely and in healthy ways.”

Placing warning labels on social media is less likely to change teen behavior and may do more harm than good if it results in restrictive regulations that ignore the need to teach kids the skills they need. Kids are far more interested in being social than assessing future risks due to their developmental stage and brain maturity. Social media is an important part of how they connect with others and participate in popular culture; they will find a way to go online. “Our goal should be to provide kids with clear guidance and the necessary skills and understanding to use technology (including social media) well rather than keep them from using it at all.”

Social Media is Here to Stay

Warning labels cannot make social media (or mobile devices) safer. People are afraid and angry. A seemingly easy solution that restricts access and enables lawsuits won’t help. Expecting social media companies to screen users without violating privacy and remove all inappropriate content and misinformation from billions of posts daily is unrealistic. And even if that were possible, there are risks of being online outside social media. All web activity can be subject to personal information collection, and kids can be targets of cyberbullying or hurtful video circulation.

Preparation and Education is Needed

Dr R suggests, if we want to protect kids from the negative impact of digital devices without depriving them of benefits, we must teach them essential skills. “There will be times when restrictions are off, and parents aren’t around. Kids have been able to change attitudes and behavior from classroom digital literacy training. It is important not to underestimate their competence and resolve when kids have been taught digital literacy skills, including:

  • The self-awareness to build self-control and accountability and to make healthy choices.
  • The ability to identify their personal values, like honesty, empathy, kindness, and respect for others, and apply them to their on and offline actions.
  • Conflict resolution and coping skills.
  • The ability to think critically about information and evaluate source and content quality.
  • An understanding of how persuasive technology can hijack their attention.
  • The skills to recognize how content styles, messaging, algorithms, and notifications manipulate their emotions and behavior.
  • The confidence and courage to set personal boundaries and protect their privacy.”

Guidance and structure are needed for healthy technology use. “You wouldn’t give your kids the keys to the car without driver’s training nor throw them in the deep end of a pool without teaching them to swim. The goal of parenting should be to prepare kids for the world they will live in.”

Encouraging specialized campaigns for phone-free zones at school are great ways to limit distractions in the classroom. As with all technology in general, it is important to encourage kids to spend more time outside and in offline activities. “Household technology rules are essential, but healthy technology behaviors are for everyone, not just kids, and all family members should be accountable.”

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/positively-media/202406/why-warning-labels-on-social-media-miss-the-mark

Surgeon General Asks Congress to Require Warning Labels for Social Media

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This week in a New York Times Opinion Piece, Dr. Vivek Murthy said that social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people. He has called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms similar to those now mandatory on cigarette boxes.

Implementing a surgeon general’s warning label, requires congressional action, and would serve to regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe,” Murthy said. “Evidence from tobacco studies show that warning labels can increase awareness and change behavior.”

Social media use is prevalent among young people, with up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 saying that they use a social media platform, and more than a third saying that they use social media “almost constantly,” according to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center.

Last year Dr. Murthy warned that there wasn’t enough evidence to show that social media is safe for children and teens. He said at the time that policymakers needed to address the harms of social media the same way they regulate things like car seats, baby formula, medication and other products children use.

To comply with federal regulation, social media companies already ban kids under 13 from signing up for their platforms — but children have been shown to easily get around the bans, both with and without their parents’ consent.

Other measures social platforms have taken to address concerns about children’s mental health can also be easily circumvented. For instance, TikTok introduced a default 60-minute time limit for users under 18. But once the limit is reached, minors can simply enter a passcode to keep watching.

Murthy believes the impact of social media on young people should be a more pressing concern. He wrote, “Why is it that we have failed to respond to the harms of social media when they are no less urgent or widespread than those posed by unsafe cars, planes or food? These harms are not a failure of willpower and parenting; they are the consequence of unleashing powerful technology without adequate safety measures, transparency or accountability.

Link to NY TImes Article

World’s Leading Technology Associations Publish Comprehensive Curricular Guidelines for Computer Science

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Published this month, ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, has joined with the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) to develop “Computer Science Curricula 2023” (CS2023). CS2023 provides a comprehensive guide outlining the knowledge and competencies students should attain for degrees in computer science and related disciplines at the undergraduate level.

Educators in technology believe that it is essential to establish uniform curricular guidelines for computer science disciplines to maintain an ongoing vitality of the field and the future success of the students who study it. The availability of a shared global curricula ensures that students develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed as they graduate to become industry practitioners, researchers, or educators. Additionally, by supporting consistency in the field across the world, the curricular guidelines enable efficient global collaboration—whether among professionals working across borders for an international company, or among academics from different nations coming together for a research project.

Growing importance of artificial intelligence reflected in CS2023 Curricular Guidelines

Traditionally, these guidelines are updated every ten years. CS2023 builds on CS2013, the most recent global curriculum framework developed by ACM and IEEE-CS, the world’s two largest associations of computing professionals. ACM and IEEE-CS have consistently focused on curating content from the world’s foremost experts for the creation of curricular guidelines, and with the rapid expansion of AI since CS2023, the addition of AAAI to the developing body was both essential and welcome.

New and Noteworthy additions of the CS2023 report include:

  • The addition of AAAI as a core partner of CS2023 reflects the growing importance of artificial intelligence as a discipline, as well as how AI is disrupting the teaching of computer science.
  • Because computing touches so many aspects of personal and public life, CS2023 goes beyond simply outlining technical competencies to include a knowledge unit called Society, Ethics, and the Profession (SEP) and incorporating it in most other knowledge areas to encourages educators and students to consider the social aspects of their work.
  • To meet the disciplinary demands of artificial intelligence and machine learning, mathematical and statistical requirements have been increased throughout CS2023, but individually identified for each knowledge area so that educators can accommodate the needs of students with varying levels of mathematical background.
  • CS2023 is designed to be a primarily online resource at https://csed.acm.org/, both for utility and so the curricular guidelines can be updated more frequently to keep pace with the rapid changes in the field.

The Committee Chair explained that “So much has changed in computing since we issued the last curricular guidelines in 2013. While the core skills and competencies that we outlined in 2013 form the foundation of this new work, we were painstaking in our effort to make sure that we reflect where computing is today. We also tried to emphasize a whole solution approach in terms of addressing issues of Society, Ethics, and the Profession, and a whole person approach in terms of emphasizing the need for students to develop professional dispositions. Finally, from the outset, we envisioned this report as a living document that will be regularly updated and can be accessed by computer science educators on an ongoing basis.”

The revised Guidelines for the Computer Science Curriculum is designed to be a primarily online resource for easy access and so that the curricular guidelines can be updated more frequently to keep pace with the rapid changes in the field.

Link to the Computer Science Curriculum: https://csed.acm.org/

Source: https://www.acm.org/media-center/2024/june/cs-2023

New York Passes Bill to Ban Addictive Social Media for Children

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New York lawmakers this week passed a bill that bans internet companies from exploiting personal data and implementing “addictive” algorithms that are designed to keep children ‘hooked’ on social media.

As part of an ongoing effort to curb technology’s role in fueling a mental health crisis in youth, New York’s governor’s office is also supporting a ban on the use of smartphones in schools, which will be debated by educational departments, healthcare professionals, parents and lawmakers over the next few months.

The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act, will require social media companies to restrict key addictive features on their platforms for users under 18 in New York. Once approved and signed into law, the Attorney General’s Office will devise specific enforcement rules and regulations. The measures will then take effect 180 days after those enforcement details are finalized. Technology companies will face fines of up to $5,000 per violation of the youth data privacy and addictive algorithm ban in New York.

A second bill, called the New York Child Data Protection Act, would prohibit all online sites from collecting, using, sharing, or selling personal data of anyone under the age of 18, unless they receive informed consent or unless doing so is strictly necessary for the purpose of the website. For users under 13, that informed consent must come from a parent.

National Online Privacy

Currently, a federal proposal — called The American Privacy RIghts Act has aimed to set nationwide standards for how companies like Meta, TikTok, Google and others can gather, use and sell user data, requiring them to collect only the amount necessary to provide products and services. That bill would transform how social media companies and online search engines use consumers’ personal data in a push to give Americans more control.

“HistoricStep” Forward in New York

New York is making a serious push to improve youth mental health and “create a safer digital environment for young people.” According to the NY Attorney General Letitia James, “Our children are enduring a mental health crisis, and social media is fueling the fire and profiting from the epidemic,” this push has targeted “the addictive features that have made social media so insidious and anxiety-producing,” she added. State Senator Andrew Gounardes, D-Brooklyn stated that “New York is sending a clear message to Big Tech: your profits are not more important than our kids’ privacy and wellbeing.” He noted that the bill he championed overcame substantial lobbying and opposition from the tech industry.

[Link]

Studies Continue To Show Teenage Girls Vulnerable to Possible Social Media Addiction

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Consistent with other previous studies, new research published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, found social media addiction was common among adolescent girls and was associated with poorer mental health and well-being.

Researchers from the  University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland aimed to measure smartphone and social media use objectively and to evaluate its associations with measures of mental health and well-being.

First-year female students (n=1164) from 21 socioeconomically diverse high schools responded to an online survey comprising validated questionnaires (Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Body Appreciation Scale 2) and visual analogue scales of current health, mood, tiredness, and loneliness. They were also asked to attach screenshots depicting their smartphone use.

This study reported daily smartphone use among study participants approached 6 hours, and objectively measured and self-reported times used on social media showed a medium correlation with each other. Daily time on social media was associated with lower GPA, increased anxiety, lower body image, and lower well-being.

Researchers highlight the following takeaway messages:

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC
⇒ Recent studies have indicated increasing anxiety among adolescent girls and associated
this with social media use. We found no previous studies combining objectively collected
data on smartphone or social media use and validated measures of social media addiction
and well-being.

WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS
⇒ In a population-based cohort, smartphone use approached 6 hours daily and one in six
adolescent girls had possible social media addiction. Social media addiction scores were
associated with poorer well-being.

HOW THIS STUDY MIGHT AFFECT RESEARCH, PRACTICE OR POLICY
⇒ Objectively measured smartphone and social media use should be assessed in both research
and practice settings, while policymakers should limit the addictive elements of social media.

Source:
Kosola S, Mörö S, Holopainen E. Smartphone use and well-being of adolescent girls: a population-based study. Arch Dis Child. 2024 May 21:archdischild-2023-326521. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2023-326521. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38772732.

Which technologies offer the biggest opportunities to save time in the NHS?

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The National Health Service in the UK as part of an annual analysis of resource and budget planning, looked at clinician views on which technologies offer the biggest opportunities to support staff capacity and release time.

Given that the change enabled by technology depends on the staff who use it, this review decided to center on clinical perspectives and insights that are crucial to achieving the coalition and leadership for change required to transform NHS care now and in the future. 

Gathering Info from Stakeholders

The research draws on an anonymous online survey of clinical staff across the UK and semi-structured qualitative interviews with experts on the use of technology and AI in clinical practice. 

The survey targeted eight professional groups in which there are workforce shortages and thus particular hopes for technology to save time and support staff capacity. To reach and represent each group, researchers worked directly with the relevant professional body: Anaesthetists, General Practitioners, Intensive Care physicians, Nurses, Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Physiotherapists, Psychiatrists, and Radiologists and Oncologists.

Survey Question #1: Which technologies are widely used right now?

Survey respondents chose from a list of options which technologies they have used in their work. The top three selected were: electronic health records (EHRs; chosen by 87% of respondents), videoconferencing to speak to colleagues (86%) and digital messaging tools for communicating with colleagues (73%). This suggests widespread usage of technologies supporting staff communication and interaction. In contrast, videoconferencing to speak to patients and digital messaging tools for communicating with patients were each selected by around one-third of respondents. Unsurprisingly, more novel technologies ranked much lower. Only 3% of respondents selected virtual or augmented reality to train health care staff or treat patients, and only 1% reported using robotic helpers and care devices.

Survey Question #2: Which technologies are saving time right now?

Question #3: Which technologies might save time in the future?

What About AI?

Survey respondents were also asked to what extent they thought AI will save them time in their work within the next 5 years. 57% said this is either somewhat or very likely. This indicates reasonable optimism among clinical staff about the potential time-savings from AI in the near future. Similarly, among our interviewees, while AI technologies were not perceived as making a significant difference to work in the NHS right now – largely because their use was seen as patchy and uneven – there was hope about realizing benefits in future. 

AI will also play a significant role in the other two technologies ranked highest by respondents as likely to save them time within the next 5 years: clinical documentation tools and software for the analysis of images and test results. One example of the former is AI-driven ambient voice technology (AVT), which uses voice-to-text software to auto-transcribe patient consultations and then natural language processing to turn these transcriptions into summary notes and letters. Voice recognition technology was predicted to offer ‘a massive reduction in the admin burden for front-line clinical staff’. 

Survey Question #4: What challenges do staff face in using technology?

Survey respondents were asked to choose up to five main barriers to using technologies effectively that they have encountered in their work. More than half of respondents chose a lack of IT support and expertise (55%) and a lack of funding to implement new technologies (53%). Other commonly cited challenges were poor internet connectivity (41%) and not having the right equipment (37%), as well as difficulties with passwords, permissions or access (36%) (see Figure 4). This suggests major barriers that include underlying infrastructure and capability, as well as implementation and usage. 

It is notable that, in the survey, staff and patient concerns about or resistance to technologies were among the lowest-ranked challenges. When presented with a list of barriers, only 12% of respondents selected staff concerns about patient safety and clinical effectiveness, while 10% chose patient resistance to using technologies and 8% chose staff concerns about data protection and security. This does not mean that these issues do not present challenges, however. There is an ongoing need to both secure staff support for the use of technologies and provide training to improve digital skills and confidence across the workforce. In our survey, 28% of respondents chose ‘lack of time for staff to train’ as a major barrier to using technologies effectively, followed by almost 1 in 5 who said there was ‘not enough training available for staff’. 

Further challenges cited in our interviews included the ongoing need for rigorous testing and evaluation of technologies. Several interviewees also raised concerns about a lack of clinician involvement in technology development and procurement, with the consequence that the solutions being implemented are not always best suited to the needs of the NHS and clinical practice. greater engagement with staff. It would be positive to move towards a future where technology is seen as ‘something that is developed with clinicians and patients rather than something that is kind of developed for them and then applied to them’.

Source: OnHealth Foundation [Link]