Capreolos debuts ‘prehab’ app for people facing surgery

Faced with the prospect of needing major surgery, most people will be anxious and desperate for information, but often don’t ask the right questions of their doctors, says German start-up Capreolos, which has just launched a free app to help them prepare.

Called Ready4OP, the app is described as a digital patient companion for patients preparing for major chest and abdominal surgeries, intended for use before they have their first consultation with a surgeon.

Crucially, that ‘prehabilitation’ period can be used to help patients prepare both physically and mentally for surgery, for example by building strength mobility and endurance, eating healthily, and working on their psychological wellbeing.

Figures suggest that up to one in four patients undergoing major surgery will have complications, and up to one in 12 deaths in hospital are as a result of such complications.

The app provides information about the procedure patients will undergo and what will happen before, during, and after their hospital stay. It also provides a guide to questions for the surgeon, recognising that general practitioners and non-surgical healthcare workers are often unable to provide all the information that patients may seek.

“Through many years of surgical experience, we know that up to two in three people have problems finding reliable and understandable health information,” said Professor Andreas Schnitzbauer, deputy clinic director for general and visceral surgery at University Hospital Frankfurt, and Capreolos’ chief executive.

“This is especially true before major cancer surgeries, but often begins with a diagnosis,” he added. “Many patients are unable to correctly interpret the consequences of an illness on their health and find it difficult to ask their doctor the right questions.”

According to Schnitzbauer, Ready4OP acts a bit like a digital patient textbook, but one designed to accommodate people with varying levels of health literacy. It is available free of charge in the Apple App store and in the Google Play store.

Among the procedures covered by the app are surgeries for abdominal, thoracic, and breast cancers, as well as bariatric procedures for weight reduction and hernia repairs after earlier interventions.

Capreolos’ chief operating officer, Charlotte Detembe, a physician at University Hospital Frankfurt, said the launch is the first step for the two-year-old digital health company, based in Bad Vilbal, which has just changed its name from Patronus Health to avoid confusion with “another company” in the sector.

That is likely to mean Berlin-based Patronus, another 2021 start-up that focuses on digital watch-based tools to support elderly healthcare and wellbeing.

The app is the first part of a wider digital health offering that aims to support “the whole process of prehabilitation,” said Detembe.

Chief business development officer Dr Dora Zmuc expanded on that, noting that the app has been designed as a “living platform that allows for quick adjustments and the addition of new modules” and can incorporate ideas from “patients, doctors, and other stakeholders.”

pharmaphorum asked Capreolos about the business model operated by the company, given that the Ready4OP is available free of change.

A spokesperson said the app currently includes nine modules, six of which are free of charge while the remaining three can be purchased by the user for a one-time €9.99 payment.

"As this is the first app out of our living platform the business model will evolve with additional modules or products," she added.