Digital Health and Product Innovation Design
SPECIAL ISSUE ON: Digital Health and Product Innovation Design
SCOPE: The global healthcare system is facing multiple challenges, including population aging, the prevalence of chronic diseases, and the unequal distribution of healthcare resources. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than half of the global population lacks access to essential healthcare services, a situation that is particularly acute in developing countries. Meanwhile, the rapid advancement of digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and wearable devices has given rise to new paradigms in digital health. Applications in this field include remote health monitoring, AI-assisted diagnosis, and Digital Therapeutics (DTx), creating opportunities to transform healthcare services from “disease treatment” toward “proactive prevention, precise intervention, and patient-centered care”. However, current digital health products still face significant shortcomings in clinical validation, standardization, data security, and user adaptability. Poor data interoperability between platforms, privacy protection and compliance challenges, and the persistence of the digital divide hinder equitable access, limiting the large-scale adoption and sustainable development of digital health products. These challenges highlight the urgent need for interdisciplinary research. This special issue aims to focus on the latest advances in digital health and product innovation design, exploring new pathways for technological optimization, design methodologies, clinical translation, and social application. It seeks to foster the integration of academic research and industrial practice, offering new insights and solutions for global health management and healthcare innovation.
TOPICS:
1-Core technology innovation in digital health products: Optimization of AI-driven diagnostic/monitoring algorithms, upgrades in wearable sensor technologies, IoT-enabled solutions for chronic disease management, etc.
2-User-centered design of digital health products: Inclusive interaction design for older adults, humanized design for children / special patient groups, visualization-based health data product design, etc.
3-Development and validation of Digital Therapeutics (DTx): DTx solutions for chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, hypertension), clinical evaluation of psychological/mental health DTx, integration mechanisms between DTx and existing healthcare systems.
4-Data security and privacy protection in digital health products: Encryption technologies integrated into product design, compliance with global standards (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR, China’s Personal Information Protection Law), strategies for balancing anonymization with product functionality.
5-Clinical translation and commercialization of digital health products: Optimizing clinical validation pathways, industry-academia-research collaboration models for product implementation, promotion strategies across diverse regions (e.g., underdeveloped areas vs. urban contexts).
6-Standards and interoperability of digital health products: Cross-platform data interoperability solutions, standardization of product performance and safety, adaptability across different healthcare systems.
7-Emerging technologies in digital health product innovation: Blockchain applications in Electronic Health Records (EHRs), 5G / 6G-enabled innovations for remote surgery / emergency care, metaverse-based rehabilitation training scenarios.
8-Ethics and societal impacts of digital health products: Addressing algorithmic bias in health product design, inclusive design under the digital divide, studies on the impact of digital health products on healthcare resource allocation.
IMPORTANT DATES
- Manuscript submission deadline: Nov-22-2025
- Notification of acceptance: Dec-01-2025
- Submission of final revised paper: Dec-15-2025
- Publication of special issue (tentative): Dec-27-2025
MAIN GUEST EDITOR:
Ying Fangtian, Zhejiang University, yingft@gmail.com
GUEST EDITORS:
Yao Cheng, Executive Dean of International School of Design, Ningbo Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, yaoch@zju.edu.cn
Xue Mengru, Assistant Professor, Ningbo Global Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, mengruxue@zju.edu.cn
Wang Qiurui, World Eco-Design Organization, wwqrr@126.com
