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

1. evaluate specific healthcare challenges presented by clinical experts within the Swiss 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 PDTx with PRECIOUS, UMZH’s 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 Switzerland.

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 Swiss 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.

Please apply to Prof. Dr. Tobias Kowatsch and Dr. Marcia Nißen with your (1) CV, and (2) a cover letter explaining your motivation to participate in the PDTx Summer School, and (3) references in support of your application (optional), via the following link by Sunday, June 1, 2025: Apply for UMZH PDTx Summer School, Zurich 2025.

Participation in the UMZH PDTx Summer School is by invitation only. Due to the intense and team-science nature of the training, the Master Class is limited to 40 participants selected from the pool of applicants. Successful participants will be assigned to interdisciplinary teams who will then work together to design a PDTx for a specific healthcare challenge. Teams will be compiled based on their background and experience. Acceptance of attendance will be communicated by the end of June 2025.

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

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 

6-8 pm Welcome Reception
location t.b.d.

08:30 – 09:00 Welcome Notes

1. Prof. Dr. med. Claudia Witt, Director Digital Society Initiative & Director Institute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University Hospital Zürich
2. UMZH Representative
3. Prof Tobias Kowatsch, Professor for Digital Health Interventions, University of Zurich (UZH), University of St.Gallen (HSG), Scientific Director Centre for Digital Health Interventions, UZH, HSG & ETH Zurich

09:00 – 10:00 Keynote on Precision Digital Therapeutics
Prof Kowatsch

10:00 – 10:30 Break

10:30 – 12:00 Introduction to Group Challenges
Clinical Experts

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Break

13:00 – 14:30 Workshop: Design of a Conceptual Model
Prof Kowatsch

14:30 – 15:00 Break

15:00 – 17:30 Group Work, Outcome: PDTx Conceptual Model
supported by Prof Kowatsch

08:30 – 09:30 Keynote on Optimization Trials
t.b.d.

09:30 – 10:00 Break

10:00 – 12:00 PDTx Design & Trial Service Workshop Part 1
Prof. Kowatsch

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Break

13:00 – 14:30 PDTx Design & Trial Service Workshop Part 2
Prof. Kowatsch

14:30 – 15:00 Break

15:00 – 17:30 Group Work, Outcome: PDTx prototype 1
supported by Prof. Kowatsch

18:00 – 21:00 Social Gathering and Dinner
t.b.d.

08:30 – 09:30 Keynote on the Evaluation of PDTx
Dr. Sonja Schläpfer

09:30 – 10:00 Break

10:00 – 12:00 GenAI Workshop – Part 1
Prof. Kowatsch

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Break

13:00 – 14:30 Groups get feedback from clinicians on PDTx prototype 1
Prof. Kowatsch

14:30 – 15:00 Break

15:00 – 17:30 Group Work, Outcome: PDTx prototype 2
supported by Prof. Kowatsch

08:30 – 09:30 Keynote on Implementation of PDTx
t.b.d.

09:30 – 10:00 Break

10:00 – 12:00 GenAI Workshop – Part 2
Prof. Kowatsch

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Break

13:00 – 14:30 Coaching Session: Group Work
Prof. Kowatsch

14:30 – 15:00 Break

15:00 – 17:30 Group Work, Outcome: PDTx prototype 3 with GenAI
supported by Prof. Kowatsch

06:30 – 7:00 pm Arrival of participants

07:00 – 7:10 pm Welcome note by the host and moderator
Dr. Marcia Nißen, CDHI Core Director, Digital Women’s Health

07:10 – 8:15 pm Panel Discussion with…

1. 1. t.b.d.
   2. t.b.d.
   3. t.b.d.
   4. t.b.d.

20:00 – 21:30 Social Exchange and Dinner

08:30 – 09:30 Keynote on Scaling up PDTx
Estelle Pfitzer, MTIP, Basel, Switzerland

09:30 – 10:00 Break

10:00 – 12:00 Coaching Session: Group Work

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Break

13:00 – 15:00 Final group presentations

15:00 – 15:30 Break

15:30 – 16:00 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. 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