Nori Health, a digital healthcare startup focused on inflammatory diseases, announced today that the first patients have started the pilot phase of ADJUVANT, a clinical trial of the digital therapy program in the Nori Health app. The study is being conducted in The Netherlands in collaboration with THINC (The Healthcare Innovation Center, UMC Utrecht) at the Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital (ETZ) in Tilburg and the Radboudumc hospital in Nijmegen.
The research focuses specifically on people living with chronic intestinal disorders, Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Previous studies1, 2 show that the quality of life for bowel patients is lower when compared to healthy individuals and that many patients can take a more active role in self-management of their condition to improve this. Self-management can not only provide health benefits for patients, but also lead to lower healthcare costs.
For this, Nori Health has developed a digital therapy app aimed at coaching and supporting patients, which is based on various proven methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In terms of content, the Nori Health app is based on scientific insights that show a positive change in patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis in the areas of lifestyle, well-being, and mental resilience.
In the Nori Health app, patients have access to a 6-week digital program in which they have interactive sessions with digital coach Nori, primarily through chat conversations. Challenges and experiences can be shared here, and patients receive personalized insights and tips to better organize their daily lives.
Jaap Trappenburg of research institute THINC,and principal investigator of the study, says: “In principle, apps are not always complex to make. The challenge lies in the extent to which the app offers a substantial solution to a patient’s needs while simultaneously providing health benefits or efficiency. By gaining insight into the working mechanism of the app as well as the experiences of the users, the app can be further optimized, increasing the chance that the app is used optimally, leading to actual health gains and possible cost reduction.”
Roeland Pater, founder and CEO of Nori Health adds: “We see a great future for value-driven care in which digital applications play an important role in addition to traditional treatment. With this study, we want to explore how Nori Health can help patients take more active ownership of their own care, in order to improve their quality of life.”
The ADJUVANT study starts with a pilot phase of 50 patients, after which a second decisive phase will be launched later this year with at least 150 patients, in which there is also room for an expansion of the number of hospitals involved.
