On July 9th, 2024 at 4.00 pm will take place the seminar titleld "Design of Digital Therapeutics: From concept to clinical implementation" at Politecnico di Milano 25.1.2 Room (Building 25) and on line by Webex.

In this seminar, Prof. Joseph Cafazzo will discuss the transformative potential of digital therapeutics in delivering new models of care in health systems that are desperate for access and capacity. The talk will explore the journey of design, development, and evaluation of digital therapeutics, starting from the initial concept and moving through to clinical implementation, and to eventual regulatory approval as software as a medical device (SaMD). Emphasizing the critical role of human factors engineering, Prof. Cafazzo will illustrate how patient-centric design principles can enhance the efficacy and safety of health technologies. He will also highlight the importance of being embedded in clinical environments to achieve success. Prof. Cafazzo will provide valuable insights into the methodologies and challenges of developing digital health solutions that empower patients and facilitate self-care for complex chronic conditions. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the interdisciplinary efforts required to bring innovative digital therapeutic solutions from the lab to real-world clinical settings.

Dr. Joseph Cafazzo is Executive Director of Biomedical Engineering at the University Health Network, a teaching hospital of the University of Toronto. He is the inaugural holder of the Wolfond Chair in Digital Health and a senior scientist of the Centre for Digital Therapeutics, a state-of-the-art research facility hosting 80 staff and students. In 2004, he founded Healthcare Human Factors, devoted the safe and effective use of medical device technology, consisting of 35 staff and students, and with usability labs embeded within Toronto General Hospital. As a biomedical engineer, Dr. Cafazzo observes healthcare delivery from the inside-out and works on ways to keep people out of hospital by creating technologies that allow for self-care at home. Over his career, he has built a network of clinicians, designers, engineers, researchers, that challenge the norms of healthcare and to empower patients and their families. Together they push the boundaries of what’s possible, which has led to the creation of technologies that act to facilitate patient self-care of complex chronic conditions.
Dr. Cafazzo is a full professor at the University of Toronto, in the areas of clinical engineering, human factors engineering, and health informatics.