The Tech Reshaping Our Well-being: Your Digital Twin & The Future of Health (Part 2)

Source: AI Generated Image

Picking up from last week's discussion, Part 2 of the conversation with Zikea McCurdie dives deeper into the revolutionary intersection of behavioral science and health technology. Zikea shares how digital twins – exact virtual versions of ourselves - could predict our body's reactions to treatments, drugs, and even exercise, paving the way for truly personalized medicine and enhanced longevity. The conversation explores how sophisticated sensors and wearables are enabling "habit risk modeling" and "just-in-time interventions" to proactively manage stress, diet, and even mental well-being. Crucially, Raakhee and Zikea tackle the vital balance between technology and human connection, advocating for AI tools that nudge us back into the real world and emphasizing the importance of staying grounded amidst increasing digital connectivity. Discover why embracing health monitoring – both technological and intuitive – is essential for future breakthroughs, and learn about Zikea's own initiative bridging digital convenience with vital in-person wellness services.

Connect with Zikea McCurdie:

Instagram: @commonhealth.co 

Website: commonhealth.co 

Selected Links:

• "Virtual Reality Therapy: Can VR Help Mental Health?" Forbes Health, 26 Jan. 2024, www.forbes.com/health/mind/virtual-reality-therapy/.

• "Wellness360." www.wellness360.co/.

• Gong, Yujun, et al. "Predicting and mitigating habit risks using digital phenotyping: A scoping review." npj Digital Medicine, vol. 7, no. 1, 2024, pp. 1073-0. Nature, www.nature.com/articles/s41746-024-01073-0.

Episode Transcript:

Horizon Shift Lab AI (00:00)

Welcome to part two of the conversation with Zikea, a continuation from last week.

Zikea: (00:05)

One thing that I am super interested in when it comes to this personalized medicine is the concept of digital twins. imagine having something that's like a exact virtual version of you. So it's a algorithm that can kind of determine how your body would react to anything based off of the data it's picked up on you.

So imagine how that can change treatment processes in the future. We can determine whether this cancer treatment will work for you or this one, whether this drug work better for you or this one, whether you just need exercise and not any type of prescription. I think that that's the ultimate goal, I think, we're trying to get at with digital health. But like, as we were saying, it's all about like data and trying to figure out what to share, how to share it, what data is useful, for what type of information.

Raakhee: (01:00)

I'm so glad you brought up digital twins. We have spoken about it in different contexts, like digital twins for buildings, you know, and that sort of thing. And we've spoken about it. It was like planning and just having another you. But again, to your point, it's like the most important digital twin is going to be the one that's going to help you manage your health. I think so much in the future, we have the technology.

We're have so much taken care of for us. And if we can and even longevity, right, there's that whole movement around living to a hundred and beyond, which I think we all know is like, wow, seems really, really feasible now. Right. And these are the things that are going to enable that. So it's an exciting time. It's like everything's there. And one of the things we have to focus on is our health and taking charge of that to to get to that hundred and to to live to see this amazing world that is happening in front of our eyes. So, you know, with some bad, absolutely, but also a lot of good. So.

Zikea: (02:03)

Agreed, agreed. think like kind of rewinding all the way back is we really have to get people to even start kind of just prioritizing their health, bringing it way, way, way back is what makes platforms like Wellness 360 and platforms like Noom and those different types of health and wellness, even like MyFitnessPal giving you like a little push notification to say, hey, remember to log your meals today.

Starting with those small little nudges and gamification tools for health to just get people interested in it is what can lead to the larger developments of digital twins. And I think sometimes when we look at behavior science tech, it's either like, whoa, this is super techie or it's like super basic without people realizing kind of like the connection to both. Cause you need to start from the basics in order to be able to get all of that information. So with my users on Wellness360, I can tell you what trends are happening with different clients of mine just based off of some of the responses that I'm getting from health risk assessments and just seeing how people are logging. If people are even logging their food and meals, because if they're not, then okay, maybe that's not an area of interest to them. Maybe we should push nutrition a little bit more or looking at things like, this person has never vlogged exercise, maybe we need to push a physical activity challenge. So it's like so small. It's really the smallest things that end up having like the largest.

Raakhee: (03:37)

That that's the power of behavior science, right? It can really change so much here. So yeah, it's exciting to think about all of this coming together. The other thing that I love, and we mentioned this in the past episode as well, but the whole concept of sensors and I'm like, man, sensors are really changed so much because that's where the data is being fed into. But is there anything cool you're seeing with like how sensors have been used in the space as well or?

Or even any thoughts you have on where that's going in the future.

Zikea: (04:07)

Yeah, of course. So I would say the coolest thing that I've seen recently or what I personally like is like, using like the Apple devices and like fitness wearables and then being able to tell when you're like stress or doing what's called like habit risk modeling. So this is where the sensors will pick up like, this person's heart rate is increasing or this person's blood sugar may have dropped if they're wearing like a continuous blood glucose monitor.

And then it'll give you an alert to say, Hey, you're at risk of doing this specific action because we're picking this up. so this is kind of where sensors are going now. So for example, I was at like a really stressful job and my resting heart rate was super high during that time. And I didn't even realize it until I wasn't there. And my watch literally gave me an alert and was like, Hey, you've been doing a good job managing your stress, your resting heart rate is a lot lower. And I was like, wow, I didn't even realize that I was that stressed and wound up. I'm looking, I'm really anticipating this walk into like mental health a little bit more, because I think that there's a lot of crossover with physical and mental health. And we can use our wearable devices to kind of tap into that.

Imagine if your iPhone vibrated every time your breathing got too shallow and you were having too many breaths per minute and it told you to, take a breath and relax. Imagine if you had been, well, watches do this anyway, when you're sitting too long and it's like, hey, make sure you get up and stand. But imagine if you're doing it over a day's time. Maybe you've fallen into a depressive spiral and it's like, hey, remember to get up and take a shower. Hey, remember to grab a glass of water or do something, dance for five minutes. I'm seeing it moving more in that area as well. But habit risk modeling might be like my favorite thing that's happening with sensors, as well as like just in time interventions, where when your sensors and devices pick up that you may be at risk. So maybe it's picking up early signs of heart attack if you have something that might be connected to your heart electric rhythms, or it might be.

I mentioned stress a few times, or maybe it might be about to faint. It'll send you something on your phone to say, hey, you need this right now. Hey, we're noticing this. And I think that's a huge key too, because we are very out of touch with our bodies at this point in time. This is my yoga teacher hat coming on now. We're very out of touch with our bodies. So sometimes we don't even realize that things are going left until we're already in the trenches and kind of going through it. But these types of developments are now what's going to be able to help us from falling into these deeper spirals. Now you'll have it when it's right there, when it's like, hey, hey, we just caught this. Let's do something about this now. Or, hey, your blood pressure has been high all day. Your heart rate has been high all day. It's about 8pm. You might be at risk of late night snacking. Here's a meditation instead.

Raakhee: (07:28)

I love that. That is so my jam. I need that. I definitely need that.

It would be so cool. to that suggestion of something better and the supportive partner and so much coming up with everything you just shared. But the first thing that was kind of coming up for me is we've had a lot of discussions in different contexts around sort of AI virtual companions, even AI's use in mental health, right? And there's definitely the positive side of it and positive things that are happening there. And then there's obviously the concern about like young kids having virtual chatbot friends and the influence and some tough cases that we've seen with situations like that. we'd agree that there's still a lot of positive and there's a lot of...

a lot of positive use cases and a lot of positive examples of how it can be used beneficially for people with mental health and that sort of thing. But I think it led me to this other question and you kind of going into being out of touch with our bodies, right, is we at such an interesting time because at the same time we have all this technology and all the tools and, you know, this amazing world of that coming up. And at the same time, we see in society this call for us to also be more grounded in nature, our bodies, more people doing yoga, more people opening up to meditation and saying, you what am I? Who am I? Right. And more and more people really coming on. And it's so fascinating because it's like, wow. Yeah. Just what are your thoughts on? On these two aspects of where we are in the world and how do they, and you've done integrative medicine, right? So you work in this technology space, you've got your background, and I think you merged it all so beautifully, right? So yeah, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.

Zikea: (09:23)

Yeah, so really great topics, really great questions, things that I feel like I personally think about regularly too, just because I've always been this very technologically inclined person ever since childhood. So like I'm all in for the tech, but you're right, there is this balance where I feel like I too got out of touch with like the real world. And as people on social media will say, like touching grass.

So I'll start with like the AI coaches. For one, I do agree. They are super, super helpful. So they are helpful for those instances of the nudges. They're helpful for those instances of the habit risk model and the just in time interventions that, hey, we talked about this. You told me you like these things. Let me feed this back to you. Now you're right. I do think the area of concern is the over-reliance on AI and the disconnection from people in general. technology is great because it brings everything right to the palm of our hands, but also because it brings it to the palm of our hands, we don't need to leave our homes. We don't need to do anything, honestly. It makes me think of the Disney movie, WALL-E, where everybody was kind of just like on those like scooters and stuff. it's almost like that's, that is the... possibility of where we can end up is we're over reliant on AI. I can even admit, I needed a quick workout plan. went on chat and GPT, told it what I want it to do. Got a whole workout plan and it's been amazing. You know, I think for small things like that, something instant, something that if you're somebody who can kind of build the motivation on your own, who can kind of have a little bit more insight background into it, I say go for the AI coaches full force.

But when it comes to really going in depth, diving deep and really looking at things that are more medically related, I think it's important to find that connection with individuals. So I think all AI coaches should come with some type of human alternative as well. Because there are going to be moments where the chat bot is not going to be able to get nuanced. It's not going to be able to understand your social determinants of health and be able to recommend something based on that. It doesn't matter what algorithm you plan, because even with that, algorithms are based on the perception of the person who developed them. So that still can be a little limiting. So while it can be helpful for that just in time, that right away, that

It's three in the morning. I need help. I need a little bit of insight. Cool. But there needs to be some type of diverting back to humans, back to people, back to a medical professional, back to tangible resources. So I think that's what brings me to the second part of the question, where I do think that if we are going to use behavior science and technology to nudge people to do the right things, that we can nudge them to do things in person as well. So maybe your AI coaches like, hey, you mentioned last night that you wanted to try yoga classes. Here's some yoga studios in your area. And we have connections with them. So you hear the discount code or something like that, things of that sort, getting those nudges to actually go back out into the world. I think that's what's going to be really important as we continue to progress with technology, because right now they're paying for our attention to stay on these phones.

So it's really what I would love to see is what I'll say. And a lot of the companies as they're developing this is taking the initiative to now push people back into the real world to say, hey, we do have these resources right here on hand for you. Here's to get you started. And now let's go out here to continue. I think there is a, once COVID hit, everybody went fully digital, which, you know, cool. I love it personally. As I said, I am a techie at heart. But I think what we're seeing now are the consequences of that and a wealth of loneliness and people feeling isolated. So even though we're the most connected we've ever been as a globe, honestly, because I can't even say as a country, it's the entire world. People are more lonely than now just because it is that instant access. So I think it's on the responsibility of these developers of these AI tools and these technologies to also say, yes, we are great, but here are other options. And there are companies who do do that. So I have worked for a few companies where they'll talk to a digital coach or they'll talk to somebody digitally. And then there's the option like, hey, do you want to talk to a person too? Or hey, here's some resources near you.

So finding that balance there, because there should be no one without the other. Same thing with integrative medicine. It shouldn't just be all natural medicine without the insight from conventional medicine. And it can't be all conventional medicine. That's a controversial take, but I'll take that. It can't be all conventional medicine, too. Sometimes you do need those natural ways of healing. So I think it's all about finding this balance.

Raakhee: (14:59)

That's definitely where that's what I think. And I sit with you on the thinking of, know, even with conventional and natural, there's a place for both, you know, and that's where that personalization comes in as well is that right place for both in your personal life and for your personal circumstances. So I think it's interesting, I think, for people to realize that it doesn't have to be one end of the extreme. Using a tech tool doesn't mean you're veering away from any of your beliefs or the groundedness you might already have in your life. You're just using the best of both worlds. You know, why not, right? So that's kind of my perspective as well. I can totally relate to you because I'm also a techie and I've had to learn to become the person who's now grounded and slowly but surely getting there in that connection with nature and food and all those things. And I can see how both those things can be present in your life beautifully and supportive beautifully.

Zikea: (15:55)

Yeah, yeah, like I think that it's something we definitely have to like look into more. And I think that so this is another like interesting place when I think of like virtual reality, because I think virtual reality, when it comes to health is also like pretty cool. Like imagine going to a workout class from your living room, but you're in it with other people who are also like in VR. And then you do have a personal trainer right in front of you can kind of guide you through it. like those instances I think are cool. And there's a cool kind of like mix between both where you're getting the connection of people, but it's also completely virtual.

I think the one thing I wanna touch on is the benefit of health monitoring just in general. So whether or not you're using it with a specific platform, whether or not you're using it to build a digital twin, no matter what, I think health tracking and health monitoring is just an important habit for us to get into in general.

As I mentioned, we're so disconnected from our bodies that we don't realize that something is building until it's already there. So just getting into the habit of just paying attention to your health, whether it's manual or tech, you know, I won't push the technology on you, but there are a lot of apps to help. But just having something where you can reflect on your body, it's just going to help us in general. It helps you personally with just navigating everything, from that's how I discovered I was gluten intolerant or gluten sensitive. It's just paying attention to my health and how I felt after certain times. So even if you're not sharing your data for a digital twin or for blood glucose monitoring, weight loss, whatever, just get into the habit of at least paying attention to what's happening in your body. Wearables are always a thing for me. I believe everybody should have a wearable device.

Whether it's a fancy Apple Watch or Google Watch or just a simple step tracker from Fitbit or Garmin or any of those platforms. I just think it's so impactful. And I think, I hope that that's where medicine and health continues to move and continues to push for people. Because that's the only way we're gonna start to see breakthroughs.

Raakhee: (18:22)

Yeah, absolutely. And see us all get to that hundred. Thriving, know, flying cars.

It's all a very exciting space. yeah, Zikea, thank you so much. This was such a great conversation. So much to unpack. Such a fast-paced, cool conversation about so many things we touched on. I really appreciate it and your time today. Yeah, would you like to share where people can reach you.

Zikea: (18:48)

yeah, yeah, of course. So you can reach me on Instagram. Actually, it's commonhealth.co. So I am launching my own initiative, actually bringing wellness programs and services directly to people. So I do want to kind of bring that mix of technology and in-person services. So being able to come to apartment buildings, community centers, schools, things of that sort and bringing restorative, rejuvenative different practices, but then also providing individuals with access to a digital platform. So if you need something at any time, you still have it, but there's still a scheduled time for you to meet with a person. Because I think in health promotion and in public health, we're missing a lot of people being able to get to different places. And this is where technology is really key. So right now it's in like private business, but we need to bring it to like public health.

And then you can also connect with me on LinkedIn, my first and last name. I am more than happy to speak to any and everyone about these topics. I think that we're gonna see a lot of expansion in behavior science and we're gonna see things that we couldn't even imagine in the next three to five years.

Raakhee: (20:05)

Yeah, yeah, I totally I believe you on that. It's you know, we try to like see what's coming in and yet every year it's like, whoa, you know, and I think that's going to continue to be the journey. So yeah, thank you so much again. And thank you to everybody who's listening. I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as we enjoyed having the conversation. So, yeah, leave us your questions and your comments. And yeah, thank you for being here. So until next time.

Bye for now.