After the PDTx Master Class, students will be able to …

1. evaluate specific healthcare challenges presented by clinical experts within the Singaporean healthcare system to detect opportunities for PDTx,
2. design a PDTx prototype that deals with a defined clinical issue, incorporating feedback from medical professionals, patients, and technical experts,
3. craft an innovative DTx with a design and trial service for PDTx and AI tools, supported by lectures and practical advice from experts, and
4. demonstrate a PDTx prototype to a panel of clinical experts, patients, and investors to showcase its potential for business success and societal impact within the healthcare landscape of Singapore.

Fundamentals of PDTx

• Definition and scope of PDTx
• Differences between traditional Digital Therapeutics (DTx) and PDTx
• Role of PDTx in modern healthcare systems

Design and Development of PDTx Prototypes

• Rapid prototyping techniques for PDTx
• Incorporating clinical input and patient feedback
• Practical sessions using state-of-the-art PDTx tools

GenAI in PDTx

• Applications of GenAI for personalizing interventions
• Practical workshops on leveraging GenAI tools in PDTx development
• Ethical considerations in AI-driven healthcare solutions

Scaling of PDTx

• Strategies for incorporating PDTx into the Singaporean Healthcare System
• Overcoming barriers and ensuring user engagement
• Developing sustainable business models for PDTx

Commercialization and Societal Impact of PDTx

• Develop sustainable business models for PDTx in healthcare markets
• Evaluate the potential societal benefits and healthcare system impacts of PDTx frameworks
• The alignment of business potential with positive social outcomes in digital health innovation

We are looking for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in medicine, engineering, computer, business, and management science.

If you are a PhD student or postdoctoral researcher not affiliated with Nanyang Technology University (NTU), please apply to Prof. Dr. Tobias Kowatsch and Dr. Jacqueline Mair with [1] your CV, [2] a cover letter explaining your motivation to participate in the masterclass, and [3] references in support of your application (optional), via the following link by Sunday, October 13, 2024: Apply for PDTx Master Class, Singapore 2025.

If you are a student or postdoctoral researcher with NTU, please contact Prof Wilson Goh.

Participation in the PDTx Master Class is by invitation only. Due to the intense and team-science nature of the training, the Master Class is limited to 30 participants selected from the pool of applicants. Successful participants will be assigned to a one of five interdisciplinary teams who will then work together to design a PDTx for a specific healthcare challenge. Teams will be compiled based on background, experience, and residency (Singapore-based or international). Acceptance of attendance will be communicated by the end of October 2024.

Travel Grants: The Future Health Technologies Programme will generously provide up to six travel grants to the value of S$1,000 each, to the most promising participants who are not already based in Singapore. Please indicate in the motivation letter if, and why, you wish to be considered for this award.

Participants will benefit from:

1. lectures and substantial hands-on experience with PDTx, incl. PDTx software and generative AI tools
2. a social network of like-minded individuals eager to improve health care with PDTx
3. a confirmation of attendance with a detailed overview of the schedule and efforts
4. a set of highly relevant scientific papers on PDTx and the following textbook: Digital Therapeutics for Mental Health and Addiction by Jacobson, Kowatsch & Marsch
5. meals and drinks during the summer school (e.g., coffee breaks, lunch, social dinner)

Additionally, international participants will be provided with accommodation for 5 nights during the Masterclass.

The PDTx Master Class is structured according to the five phases of the rigorous and methodology-guided design and evaluation framework for digital health interventions outlined below:

1. Preparation Phase: (a) gathering requirements for a PDTx; (b) developing a first PDTx prototype based on patient-centered and value-sensitive design methods; (c) conducting a feasibility study; (d) determining an optimization criterion based on a market analysis and focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders
2. Optimization Phase: Determining the optimized intervention package with the help of optimization trials (e.g., micro-randomized trials or (fractional) factorial experiments)
3. Evaluation Phase: Determining the effectiveness of a PDTx with randomized controlled trials
4. Implementation Phase: Implementing the PDTx into a healthcare ecosystem with a sustainable reimbursement model
5. Scale Phase: Scaling up PDTx and implementing it in several healthcare ecosystems

For more details, please read:

1. Schlieter, H., Gand, K., Marsch, L. A., Chan, W. S., & Kowatsch, T. (2024). Editorial: Scaling-up health-IT—sustainable digital health implementation and diffusion. Frontiers in Digital Health, 6. 10.3389/fdgth.2024.1296495 
2. Kowatsch, T., Otto, L., Harperink, S., Cotti, A., & Schlieter, H. (2019). A design and evaluation framework for digital health interventions. it – Information Technology, 61(5-6), 253-263. 10.1515/itit-2019-0019
3. Collins, L. M. (2018). Optimization of Behavioral, Biobehavioral, and Biomedical Interventions: The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST). Springer. 10.1007/978-3-319-72206-1 

6-7 pm Welcome Reception

08:30 – 09:00 am Welcome notes by the Chairs

09:00 – 10:00 am Keynote on PDTx

10:00 – 10:30 pm Coffee Break

10:00 – 12:00 Introduction to Group Challenges, Clinical Experts, Patients & Participants

noon – 01:00 pm Lunch Break

01:00 – 02:30 pm Workshop: Design of a Conceptual Model

02:30 – 03:00 pm Coffee Break

03:00 – 05:30 pm Coaching Session: Group Work (Outcome: PDTx Conceptual Model)

08:30 – 09:30 am Keynote on Optimization Trials

09:30 – 10:00 am Coffee Break

10:00 – noon PDTx Design & Trial Service Workshop Part 1

12:00 – 01:00 pm Lunch Break

01:00 – 02:30 pm PDTx Design & Trial Service Workshop Part 2

02:30 – 03:00 pm Coffee Break

03:00 – 05:30 pm Coaching Session: Group Work (Outcome: PDTx prototype 1)

07:00 – 10:00 pm Social Dinner

08:30 – 09:30 am Keynote on the Evaluation of PDTx

09:30 – 10:00 pm Coffee Break

10:00 – 12:00 GenAI Workshop – Part 1

12:00 – 01:00 pm Lunch Break

01:00 – 02:30 pm Groups get feedback from clinical experts and patients on PDTx prototype 1

02:30 – 03:00 pm Coffee Break

03:00 – 05:30 pm Coaching Session: Group Work (Outcome: PDTx prototype 2)

08:30 – 09:30 am Keynote on Implementation of PDTx

09:30 – 10:00 pm Coffee Break

10:00 – 12:00 GenAI Workshop – Part 2

12:00 – 01:00 pm Lunch Break

01:00 – 02:30 pm Coaching Session: Group Work

02:30 – 03:00 pm Coffee Break

03:00 – 05:30 pm Coaching Session: Group Work (Outcome: PDTx prototype 3 with GenAI)

07:00 – 07:20 pm Keynote

07:20 – 08:00 pm Panel Discussion

08:00 – 09:00 pm Informal Exchange

08:30 – 09:30 am Keynote on Scaling up PDTx

09:30 – 10:00 pm Coffee Break

10:00 – noon Coaching Session: Group Work

noon – 01:00 pm Lunch Break

01:00 – 03:00 pm Final group presentations assessed by the clinical experts, patients
and digital health investors

03:00 – 03:30 pm Coffee Break

03:30 – 04:00 pm Award Ceremony & Closing Remarks

1. Digital Therapeutics Alliance (2023) DTx Evaluation Toolkit, https://dtxalliance.org/understanding-dtx/dtx-evaluation-toolkit/
2. Gilbert, S., Harvey, H., Melvin, T. et al. (2023). Large language model AI chatbots require approval as medical devices. Nature Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02412-6
3. Jacobson, N., Kowatsch, T., & Marsch, L. (Eds.). (2023). Digital Therapeutics for Mental Health and Addiction: The State of the Science and Vision for the Future (1st ed.). Elsevier, Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2020-0-02801-X.
4. Kowatsch, T., & Fleisch, E. (2021). Digital Health Interventions. In O. Gassmann & F. Ferrandina (Eds.), Connected Business: Create Value in a Networked Economy (pp. 71-95). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76897-3_4
5. Sim, I. (2019). Mobile Devices and Health. N Engl J Med, 381(10), 956-968. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1806949
6. Wang, C., Lee, C., & Shin, H. (2023). Digital therapeutics from bench to bedside. npj Digital Medicine, 6(1), 38. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-023-00777-z