Data-driven medicine: when algorithms help to heal
A research project by the RJ Laser Academy
Modern medicine is on the threshold of a new era: thanks to digital technologies and large volumes of data, therapy is being increasingly personalized – tailored to the needs of each individual patient. Data-driven medicine promises not only to provide more precise diagnoses, but also more efficient treatments with fewer side effects.
These developments are centered on the systematic analysis of patient data, from genetics to lifestyle factors, plus diagnostic information from laboratory results and imaging procedures such as ultrasound, X-rays, CT, and MRI.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can be utilized to detect patterns hidden to the human eye. “The use of big data in healthcare is the key to personalized medicine,” according to cardiologist and digital health pioneer Dr. Eric Topol. “It has the potential to save lives and to improve the efficiency of care.”
We're doing what we can to help: our lasers can collect data
Every patient is different and has their own clinical history. With the LightStream Laser System, Reimers & Janssen have become the first manufacturer of therapeutic lasers to offer the option of creating personalized treatment plans, measuring the success of treatment, and adjusting the course of treatment.
All the data obtained can be collected digitally in the device and can help the therapist to improve ongoing and future treatment plans.
Imagine what could be achieved if all the data of all users and all kinds of different patients could be used! That data could be analyzed systematically, making it possible to improve the therapy for every user and consequently for every patient.
You can help too: share your data with us
The quantity of data available is crucial to the quality of any data analysis. That's where you come in, as a user who is interested in scientific advancement: The RJ Laser Academy would like to collaborate with you on a research project to collect enough data to obtain conclusive results in a clinical follow-up study for the improvement of data-driven laser therapy.
You can participate in this research easily – no paperwork required
As a LightStream Laser user, all you need to do is register with the RJ Laser Academy and download the LightStream Service app.
The rest happens almost automatically: You regularly receive a message from us asking you to share your data sets. At the press of a button, your Service app then retrieves the anonymized data from your system and transmits it automatically to our server.
The goal that you would help us to achieve in this project is to obtain enough data sets to optimize the treatment settings for every indication through analysis of the data (power, energy, number of treatment days).
Our vision is that in future, these improvements could be made available automatically to all users by an update on the app.
Taking part is always worthwhile
As a participant, you will receive regular analyses of the data you transmit, even while the project is being conducted. This will provide you not only with an overview of all treatment plans carried out up to that point, sorted by indication, but also with visual presentations of specific treatment parameters. That will help you to make your therapy more efficient and continuously improve it for your patients.
As a registered participant, the Academy will also grant you fee-free attendance at the seminar “Angewandte Lasertherapie in der Schmerzbehandlung” (applied laser therapy in the treatment of pain), in which renowned expert Dr. Volkmar Kreisel imparts in-depth knowledge of therapy with the LightStream Laser.
I'm interested but I don't have a LightStream Laser
Only with the LightStream Laser System can you create and optimize treatment plans. So, as sponsor of this research project, Reimers & Janssen GmbH supports all registered participants with a discount on the purchase of a LightStream ortho Laser System.
Privacy is important to us
Data-driven medicine places elevated demands on the protection of patient data, which we of course fully meet: all treatment data is encrypted directly in the Base Station, with the patients' names encoded and therefore not identifiable then or at any later stage. The device can only transmit encrypted data packets wirelessly to the Service app, it never connects to the internet itself. That protects it from hacking.
Your RJ Laser Academy team
Quote: Dr. Eric Topol in “InnoMed – Innovationen der Medizin” online health magazine, August 16, 2024