CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Digital health leader, physIQ ., recently announced that Intermountain Healthcare Utah, The University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth) and Rush University Medical Center have joined the NIH-funded DeCODe study to develop an AI-based COVID-19 digital biomarker. These institutions will serve as recruiting centers and key partners in the Phase II validation stage of this study. Realization of this biomarker may provide early detection of a rapid clinical decompensation in high-risk COVID-19 positive patients.

Intermountain, a nonprofit system of 25 hospitals, 225 clinics, and a medical group of 2,600 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, that serves patients in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho, has evaluated over 125,000 COVID-19 patients, since the pandemic began. Intermountain is one of the country’s first healthcare systems to use innovative data analytic tools and algorithms to help predict whether COVID-19 patients are at risk for being admitted to the ICU, or if they’re at high risk to develop COVID-19 hyper-inflammatory syndrome. They are a leading enroller in the ACTIV4b trial of antithrombotic therapy in patients with COVID-19 recovering at home.

“We are thrilled to join this groundbreaking study that physIQ has started,” said Joseph Bledsoe MD, Emergency Medicine Director of Research at Intermountain Healthcare. “With all of the advances in AI and wearable sensors, this study can help give healthcare workers the tools needed to proactively address their patient’s COVID-19 acute illness.”

UTHealth will provide expertise in recruitment, enrollment, and implementation of this study. The university, the most comprehensive academic health care system in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, established the UTHealth COVID-19 Center of Excellence early in the pandemic and opened the first post-COVID-19 clinic in Houston in September 2020.

“This study has potential for a monumental impact on our healthcare system. With proactive and personalized medicine, like what physIQ enables, we have the opportunity to improve outcomes from the pandemic,” said Bentley Bobrow, MD FACEP, Professor and Chair and John P. and Katherine G. McGovern Distinguished Chair of Emergency Medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. “PhysIQ will play an essential role in how we manage COVID-19 patients and how we fight the pandemic as a whole.”

Rush University Medical Center is a leading academic health system dedicated to improving the health of the people and diverse communities in Illinois. They value innovation, collaboration and excellence, which made them a perfect fit in this study.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant morbidity and mortality of our patients. It is imperative that we are able to detect a patient’s clinical decline before it is too late,” said Yanina A. Purim-Shem-Tov, MD, MS, Senior Medical Director of Clinical Practice and Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine at Rush Medical College. “Rush University Medical Center is proud to participate in the DeCODe study. Through this worthy research, we are another step closer in fighting the pandemic.”

The DeCODe study, along with other physIQ-led projects, will help identify the earliest signals of an inflammatory response specific to an individual. “This work has huge implications well beyond just improving the care of individuals suffering from COVID-19, but anybody experiencing, or at risk for, an inflammatory reaction including those due to all infections, autoimmune conditions, and resulting from a range of therapeutic interventions from vaccines to cancer therapies,” said Steve Steinhubl, MD, physIQ’s Chief Medical Officer.

As a result of DeCODe’s Phase I success, physIQ was able to apply for a portion of the $1.5 million federal government initiative to study COVID-19 patients with long-term symptoms (also known as long haulers). Because of the vast enrollment numbers of COVID-19 patients in the DeCODe study, there is a high likelihood that some are long-haulers. Intermountain, UTHealth and Rush will also partner with physIQ on this study.

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. 75N91020C00040.

About physIQ

PhysIQ is the leader in digital medicine, dedicated to generating unprecedented health insight using continuous wearable biosensor data and advanced analytics. Its enterprise-ready cloud platform continuously collects and processes data from any wearable biosensor using a deep portfolio of FDA-cleared analytics. The company has published one of the most rigorous clinical studies to date in digital medicine and are pioneers in developing, validating, and achieving regulatory approval of Artificial Intelligence-based analytics. With applications in both healthcare and clinical trial support, physIQ is transforming continuous physiological data into insight for health systems, payers, and pharmaceutical companies.

For more information, please visit www.physIQ.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Intermountain Healthcare

Intermountain Healthcare is a nonprofit system of 25 hospitals, 225 clinics, a medical group with 2,600 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians, a health insurance company called SelectHealth, and other health services in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes and sustainable costs.

About UTHealth

Established in 1972 by The University of Texas System Board of Regents, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is Houston’s Health University and Texas’ resource for health care education, innovation, scientific discovery and excellence in patient care. The most comprehensive academic health center in the UT System and the U.S. Gulf Coast region, UTHealth is home to Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing, John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Medical School, and schools of biomedical informatics, biomedical sciences, dentistry, and public health. UTHealth includes the UTHealth Harris County Psychiatric Center, as well as the growing clinical practices UT Physicians, UT Dentists, and UT Health Services. The university’s primary teaching hospitals are Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, and Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. For more information, visit www.uth.edu.

About Rush University System for Health

Rush University System for Health brings together the brightest minds in medicine, research and academics. Driven by discovery, innovation and a deep responsibility for the health of our communities, Rush is a national leader in outstanding patient care, education, research, community partnerships and empowering a new generation of health care providers.

Rush comprises Rush University Medical Center, Rush University, Rush Copley Medical Center and Rush Oak Park Hospital, as well as an extensive provider network and numerous outpatient care facilities.

Rush University Medical Center is ranked among the top hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The Medical Center was also ranked No. 1 in the nation by Vizient and named a Top Teaching Hospital by The Leapfrog Group.

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