In the new episode of the Digital Public Health Podcast, host Rasmus Cloes talks to Malte Bornholdt about the growing costs and strict regulatory measures in the DiGA market. But what does this mean for founders who are starting out with a new idea today—and which hurdle ultimately determines success or failure?

Malte shows what it takes to develop a functioning DiGA: a clear concept, stable software, approval as a medical device, a well-planned study, and patience. A lot of patience. Because short development times today result in complex processes that take years and require a great deal of expertise.

One focus of the conversation is the pain app HELP, which takes a successful analog procedure and turns it into a digital solution for many thousands of people affected by pain. Malte describes why this app has the potential to help millions of people—and what scientific and regulatory steps it is going through on its way to becoming a DiGA.

Rasmus and Malte talk openly about financing, study design, the BfArM, the role of doctors, and the challenges of marketing. Because an approved app is not enough: it must be used, it must work, and it must be convincing in the long term. This is precisely where a good idea is separated from a sustainable product.

Finally, Malte looks ahead: AI, performance-based remuneration, new certificates, and the growing importance of digital care. Despite increasing requirements, he is optimistic—because idea development remains dynamic, and the demand for digital solutions is growing faster than the industry can keep up.

Watch/listen now and gain exciting insights: YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Dezer

Host Rasmus Cloes talks to Kerstin Flohr, a researcher at the Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research (IPP) at the University of Bremen, about digital health literacy in schools, the professional ethics of teachers, and why prevention often only begins when it is already too late. However, her research has given her ideas on how this could be changed.

In conversation with host Rasmus Cloes, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tanja Schultz talks about her research at the Cognitive Systems Lab at the University of Bremen, which focuses on the interface between the body and artificial intelligence. Her team studies biosignals – electrical, acoustic, or muscular activities of the body – to understand how we behave and how machines can learn from this to understand us better.

She is particularly proud of her research into silent communication, in which sensors on the face measure muscle activity and use it to reconstruct speech. This offers hope for people who can no longer speak.

With the new Biosignals Hub project, Tanja wants to create a place where citizens can experience for themselves what it means when body data is collected, shared, and processed. To this end, a large infrastructure is being created in Bremen: servers with 40 petabytes of storage, new sensor technology, and mobile devices that can record biosignals in everyday life. Participants decide for themselves when and what they record. This is a counter-concept to the opaque data collection practices of large tech companies.

The goal is not only research, but also education: the Biosignals Hub aims to create transparency about what data we disclose and what power it holds. Tanja emphasizes that people should make conscious decisions about whether and how they want to share their data. Only those who understand what is being collected can truly decide for or against it. According to Tanja, Bremen, with its university culture and freedom of research, is the ideal location for this project.

At the same time, she works in the DFG research group Lifespan AI, which, together with the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS, develops methods to predict health and disease across the entire lifespan. Cohort data is combined with new biosignal recordings to better identify long-term patterns. This creates bridges between classical epidemiology and AI-based sensor research.

Finally, Tanja talks about the social dimension of her work: about questions of power, about the responsibility of research, and about new rights that we need – such as the “right to be forgotten” in AI. She argues that systems must learn not only to delete data, but also to forget what they have learned. Only then can technology become more human. Her vision: a digital future in which enlightenment, freedom, and technology work together rather than against each other.

Watch/listen now and gain exciting insights: YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Dezer

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The early career researcher developed "Digital Public Health Maturity Index" in her dissertation

Dr. Laura Maaß (Postdoc in the LSC) has been awarded the dissertation prize of the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP) for her outstanding dissertation in the field of social medicine and prevention. Her research focused on the digitalization of health systems as well as digital health care and prevention services (Digital Public Health).

In her dissertation, Laura Maaß developed the "Digital Public Health Maturity Index," an instrument that enables measurement for the first time of how far the digitalization of national health systems can be implemented, or is already being implemented. The index captures not only technological and legal aspects, but also social dimensions such as acceptance and trust among the population, as well as the breadth and depth of digital interventions deployed in prevention, health promotion, health care, and surveillance.

For her achievement, the early-career researcher received the dissertation prize of the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP) in September, which annually recognizes an outstanding dissertation from the field. The prize includes a prize money of 1,000 euros and additionally includes a one-year, fee-free membership in the DGSMP as well as coverage of travel costs to the society's next annual conference. The prize jury consisted of Dr. Adrienne Alayli, Prof. Dr. Susanne Hartung, Dr. Janice Hegewald, Prof. Dr. Eike Quilling, and Prof. Dr. Enno Swart.

"I am very grateful for this award and the appreciation it expresses for my work. I hope that with my dissertation, I can make an innovative contribution to the design of evidence-based, equitable, and sustainable digital strategies in social medicine and prevention, and thus strengthen their core mission: promoting health equity and social participation in an increasingly digitalized society," says Laura Maaß.

Her dissertation can be viewed free of charge on the website of the State and University Library Bremen: media.suub.uni-bremen.de/handle/elib/8243