| CODE | CPH3902 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Digital Therapeutics | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Digital therapeutics (DTx) is an emerging form of technology in healthcare that combines software programs, devices, and various interventions to deliver therapeutic interventions directly to patients. The technology uses evidence-based and clinically evaluated software to treat, manage, and prevent a broad spectrum of behavioral, mental, and physical diseases and disorders. These tools may be used independently or in combination with medications, devices, or other therapies to optimize patient care and health outcomes. The FDA has recently embarked on issuing official approvals for the use of specific DTx tools. This study-unit will provide students with information on this new and rapidly evolving area of technology, and equip them with the skills needed in order to understand the benefits and risks, of such technology, use it and demonstrate its proper use to others. Study-unit Aims: - Provide students with the rationale and concepts behind digital therapeutics, and their applications in healthcare; - Describe the validation process for Digital Therapeutics applications; - Teach students the current benefits of Digital Therapeutics, with a focus on their current main research indications, including CNS disorders, cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal disease; - Equip students with the skills of applying a specific Digital Therapeutics application, within a general management programme, and appreciate its contributing role to personalized medicine; - Describe the role of Digital Therapeutics within the clinical trial framework. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Discuss the roles of Digital Therapeutics, provide examples of such applications, and discuss their role within a personalized medicine therapeutic programme; - Characterise the qualities and targets which a Digital Therapeutics application should aim for; - Evaluate clinical studies that incorporate Digital Therapeutics applications; - Provide and describe specific examples of Digital Therapeutics use. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Apply Digital Therapeutics approaches to specific situations, and be able to operate the respective digital applications; - Recognise new developments in this emerging area; - Describe the role of Digital Therapeutics within a therapeutic management programme; - Identify areas where Digital Therapeutics approaches may be beneficial, as opposed to those whereby it might not provide any additional benefit; - Provide general advice on specific Digital Therapeutics applications, to other professionals; Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main text: - Published articles and specific reading material that will be provided to the students directly. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Independent Study & Tutorial | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Fruszina Mezei Kristina Curtis Robin Van Kessel Stefan Buttigieg Anthony Fenech (Co-ord.) Janet Mifsud |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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