Tech Tonic
Dive into Stanford’s Ozempic rival, AI that predicts cognitive decline, and see what’s shaping tomorrow’s care.
Handoff #6 | Reading time: 5 minutes
Good morning. It’s Chocolate Covered Raisins Day (controversial, we know) and Cocktail Day, so no judgment if you celebrate both at once. Also, it's World Tuberculosis Day, a reminder of our ongoing fight against global health challenges. Meanwhile, on the tech front, AI is skipping the small talk and making headlines. Let's unpack the latest innovations.
In today's handoff:
Stanford’s AI-Powered Peptide
HIMSS ‘25 AI Takeaways
AI Agents Are Taking Over (in a Good Way)
Sleep and Dementia Prediction
A quick roundup of key headlines you might’ve missed!
🩺 Quick Assessment
The one story every healthcare pro needs to know this week.
⚖️ Weight Loss Without the Woes? Stanford’s Peptide Says Yes
Imagine dropping kilos without the dreaded side effects. Stanford’s AI-powered BRP peptide might just be the weight-loss breakthrough we’ve been craving.
How AI Helped?
AI looked through a mountain of proteins to find this tiny 12-amino-acid gem. The result? Appetite suppression minus the usual nausea or muscle loss you’d get with Ozempic.
The Science
BRP peptide is like a sleeper agent, dormant until activated. It focuses on the hypothalamus, your brain’s appetite HQ, rather than roaming your whole body (looking at you, Ozempic).
The Outcome
Early findings suggest it helps curb weight gain without the familiar side effects of existing meds. Published in Nature, this discovery has already sparked a startup racing toward human trials.
Why It Matters?
If BRP lives up to the hype, we might finally have a weight-loss solution that’s more science, less suffering. Stay tuned, this could be big.
🚨 Critical Updates
Fresh, impactful news on AI’s real-world applications in healthcare.
HIMSS ‘25: 5 AI Takeaways You Actually Need to Know
1️⃣ AI Is Moving Fast, But Not Every Tool Is a Winner
AI-powered documentation assistants (like ambient AI) are making waves, but not all tools deliver. As Duke’s Dr Eric Poon put it: “With AI, you need to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince or princess.” Translation? Expect trial and error.
2️⃣ AI Agents Are Already Automating Care Tasks
At MUSC Health, AI agents handle 40% of prior authorizations without human intervention. Epic and others are developing AI-driven assistants to close care gaps.
3️⃣ Home-Based Care Is Getting Smarter
Mass General Brigham is expanding its hospital-at-home program, using AI to prevent falls by learning patient movement patterns. Meanwhile, Stanford Health Care wants inpatient-level treatment at home, if California regulations allow it.
4️⃣ AI Might Actually Fix (Some) Burnout
Doctors and nurses testing ambient AI say it’s making their jobs easier, not harder. Kaiser Permanente’s Dr Brian Hoberman even credits AI for making him a better doctor by slashing paperwork time.
5️⃣ The Future of AI in Healthcare Is Augmentation, Not Replacement
The ultimate goal? AI that enhances, rather than replaces, healthcare professionals. From documentation to decision support, AI is evolving to assist, not take over.
📋 Follow-Up Notes
Demystifying tricky AI concepts with simple, relatable explanations.
💡 Agentic AI
The Breakdown
Agentic AI isn’t just waiting for instructions, it takes action. Unlike traditional AI, which just spits out answers, agentic AI sets goal, makes decisions, and gets things done without constant handholding.
The Analogy
Think of regular AI as a helpful but passive intern, you ask, it delivers. Agentic AI? It’s your proactive PA, booking flights, setting reminders, and fixing problems before you even notice them.
Why It Matters
This isn’t just smarter AI, it’s doer AI. From automating tasks to managing workflows, agentic AI is turning tech from a tool into a teammate.
🔍 Incidental Findings
The AI twist you didn’t see coming.
🧠 Sleep Tight, Think Right: AI Predicts Dementia Before Symptoms Start
Turns out, your brain isn’t just resting while you sleep, it’s dropping hints about your future cognitive health. Researchers at Mass General Brigham have developed an AI tool that analyses brain wave activity during sleep to predict cognitive impairment years before symptoms appear. It’s like a weather forecast, but for your cognitive health.
Why It’s Wild?
This AI isn’t scanning fancy MRI images or running complex cognitive tests. Instead, it’s decoding subtle changes in brain waves, particularly gamma band frequencies during deep sleep, using good old EEG. With an 85% accuracy rate, this AI tool could turn wearable EEG devices into an early warning system for dementia.
The Takeaway
Early intervention is everything in neurodegenerative diseases. If AI can flag cognitive decline before symptoms set in, healthcare professionals could proactively slow disease progression rather than reacting when it’s too late.
📝 Rounds Recap
A quick roundup of key headlines you might’ve missed but should know.
WHO has designated the Digital Ethics Centre at Delft University as a Collaborating Centre for AI in healthcare governance. The goal? To ensure AI is developed ethically and doesn’t turn into an unregulated Wild West.
AI Scribes tech (like DAX Copilot) found that it cut documentation time by 20% and reduced after-hours work by 30%. Sounds great, until you realise some notes needed serious editing. AI scribes are promising, but still need a proofreader.
Epic is expanding its AI efforts beyond electronic patient records, rolling out AI agents that prep patients for visits, schedule tests, and summarise key health info.
Google’s AMIE an AI-driven medical assistant, refines diagnoses through back-and-forth conversations and helps guide treatment. Think of it as an AI doctor that actually follows up.
Harvard Medical School is launching an AI in Medicine PhD track, backed by Breyer Capital. The programme will train physician-scientists and computational biologists to merge AI with biomedicine.
AI or Medical Device? Large language models (LLMs) are pumping out clinical decision support at a level that looks like a medical device, but none are actually regulated as one. Experts are calling for clearer guidelines before AI starts making too many unsupervised medical calls.
Seniors Are Going Digital, and Loving It A new JAMA study found that older adults are embracing digital health tools, from patient portals to telehealth apps. The pandemic may have forced them online, but now it’s become a key part of their healthcare routine.
🤝 Final Handoff
That’s a wrap on this week’s AI ride, one part groundbreaking, one part slightly unsettling, and 100% making us question who’s really running the show.
Oh, and before you go, something big is coming! We’re launching AI Handoff Insider this week, a deeper dive for those who want more than just the headlines. This free newsletter isn’t going anywhere, but if you’re ready to go further, keep an eye on your inbox. The first article is on us and dropping this Wednesday. Don't miss it!
Thanks for riding along, and see you on the other side!