Social distancing and lockdown measures have dramatically shifted the ways that people access healthcare information, with patients turning to devices, apps and the internet for help. But while practising health professionals are bound by confidentiality rules, the same cannot be said for digital health platforms or search engines. To find out more, we investigate how much of our personal health data stays private outside of the traditional clinical setting. Elsewhere, in device news, we learn how a robotic jaw could open opportunities for drug release chewing gum.

Also, we round up notable developments in wearables that are helping patients and practitioners tackle Covid-19 transmissions, examine the potential of using radiofrequency energy to treat uterine fibroids, and ask if a new blood test can live up to the hype by detecting cancer up to four years before symptoms appear.

Plus, we find out how technology is helping vocally impaired patients to communicate with the people around them, re-examine the single-use plastics debate in the wake of Covid-19, and take a look at how medical device companies have used technology to optimise remote working.

All this, plus the latest trends, insight and analysis in medical devices and technologies from GlobalData.

Eloise McLennan, editor