Alexia ADDA

AI for mentalhealth

By Marjorie Modi

Pandemic as catalyst • • • I grew up in the Paris region but took a senior management degree at the Ecoles des Mines d’Albi and then specialised in nanomedicine in Milan. In 2020 I joined Hôpital Pasteur, part of the Nice hospital group, as head of innovation for AI and digital projects. During the pandemic, I realised the impact that digital technology could make for mental health. Inspired by initiatives in the United States and Germany, I explored the idea of digital therapy. I was helped by my father, who has an IT and data security business, and Dr. Ivan Gasman, head of the psychiatry department at a major Paris hospital. Seeing that the treatment of addiction is not covered by national health insurance, we focused our digital therapy on tobacco dependence. That was also a personal choice motivated by my grandfather’s death from lung cancer.

Pioneering digital therapy for addiction • • • Working with teams at Hôpital Paul Brousse in Paris, we have developed Quitoxil, a digital tool that can be downloaded to a smartphone. It combines cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with analysis of personal health data for customised support. Quitoxil comes in the form 

of a card with a QR code, in pharmaceutical packaging, with an instruction leaflet. Unlike conventional health apps, Quixotil is a medical aid validated by clinical studies. It also offers round-the-clock, 7/7 assistance from ex-smokers with credentials in tobacco cessation therapy – that’s a valuable motivational aid.

A digital therapy available from pharmacies • • • Having raised a million euros in funds, Quitoxil is now growing apace. Prescribed by doctors and available in pharmacies since September, it will be covered by the national health insurance some time in 2025. We are currently working with the national digital science research institute (INRIA) in Sophia Antipolis, to develop a facial recognition system that detects the patient’s emotional state, measures the risk of relapse and offers an appropriate response. This function should be available within two years. We are also working on a sugar addiction programme with Dr. Faredj Cherikh, professor of addiction treatment at the Nice hospitals group. This should come on line in 2026. The Americans are taking a close interest in our project, and we should be meeting Silicon Valley experts in January. Watch this space!

[ 2020 ] Implementation on the Côte d’Azur. 

[ 2022 ] Launch of the first version of Quitoxil.

[ 2023 ] Reimbursement by the first French mutual insurance 

companies. [ 2024 ] Fundraising of one million euros.

[ 2025 ] Coverage by health 

insurance.