Background article – MEDICA 2017

From chatbots to artificial intelligence, from big data to the health cloud: the digital revolution in medicine is taking place right now.

MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM highlights the opportunities and prospects for doctors and patients.

“Izzy is your friend. She understands you and helps you to be prepared by keeping track of your menstrual cycle”: this is what you’ll find if you type “Izzyperiod” into the Facebook search box. It has already been shared over a thousand times and received over 750 comments by the end of August. If Izzy was a person, this wouldn’t be out of the ordinary: but Izzy is, in fact, a chatbot. Text-based systems like these, which anyone can have a “natural” conversation with online, are on the rise worldwide. They are tipped to have massive development potential in the healthcare system. The MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM at the world’s leading medical trade fair, MEDICA 2017 (November 13 – 16 in Düsseldorf, Germany with over 5,000 exhibitors), offers an exciting overview and perspective on the topics and trends that are set to shape the digitalization of medicine. Artificial intelligence (AI), precision medicine, medical support via the internet which uses big data and participatory health as well as chatbots: this year this long-established forum offers a huge range of options.



“We’re developing a female chatbot, based on Facebook Messenger. She’s called Izzy”, said Dr. Hajnalka Hejja, a doctor and the founder and CEO of Smart Health UG aka MediLad. Hejja is one of the speakers at the MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM. Her session is called “In case of discomfort, ask your chatbot: Intelligent robots and apps enter the healthcare ecosystem” (November 13, 1:20 pm). Izzy is a friendly voice for young women that want to learn more about reproductive health. She’s not for preventing pregnancies. Smart Health UG aka MediLad leaves that task to other service providers. Izzy’s primary application is predicting menstruation and ovulation. The difference between Izzy and apps is that Izzy does not require installation of an app or software and interacting with Izzy is thus completely different. This is because interaction takes place in the form of a conversation, between the user and the female chatbot (via Facebook Messenger). Only a little data needs to be entered to determine the menstrual cycle with sufficient accuracy.

So far, young women from the U.S. and Britain have been the main users of this service, according to Dr. Hajnalka Hejja. “Although Izzy is currently only available in English, there are also a few German users”, said Dr. Hejja. The chatbot service is targeted at all young women who grew up in social environments where discussing aspects of pregnancy was tough or impossible. Izzy is free to use, but services such as these also require that financing is secured.

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