Alex Babanin from Avalanche is participating in the new healthtech incubator at TCD. Image: Paul Sharp
10 digital health start-ups will embark on a brand new European incubator programme for the next number of weeks.
The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) is hosting a number of start-ups from all across Europe as part of a new incubator programme.
The European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT) has collaborated with TCD to form the incubator, known as the EIT Health Validator.
It is open to healthtech start-ups founded by professionals and researchers working in the medtech sector across Europe, and will enable early-stage digital health start-ups to identify suitable markets, as well as validate their business ideas and strategies.
From today (20 June), the 10 start-ups from Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Poland and Latvia will take part in a six-week programme of validation and mentoring work, before embarking on a two-week tour of four major healthtech hubs across Europe: TU Delft, Netherlands; Grenoble EM, France; Imperial College London and Newcastle University, UK. The tour will enable multimarket product validation at a rapid pace.
The 2018 teams are made up of health and science researchers, medical professionals, software engineers, digital innovators, pharma specialists, medical device experts and business developers.
To gain entry to the programme, all 10 teams had to prove that their venture had a defensible technology with a measurable health benefit to society that can be delivered within a realistic timeframe.
CEO of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub at TCD, Fionnuala Healy, said: “The first of its kind in Ireland, the EIT Health Validator programme is seeking to identify new technologies that promote healthy living, support active ageing and improve healthcare systems.”
The 2018 EIT Health Validator teams
- Adamant (Finland) has developed a wearable smart sensor to improve our understanding of Parkinson’s disease. The system measures electricity muscle activity and human motion to assess a patient’s condition and the effects of different treatments.
- Avalanche (Germany) has developed a 3D recognition system to replace manual documentation of medical implants used in surgery, to improve the existing protocol for reordering used parts, which is complex, error-prone and can cause delays.
- BrainyApp (Ireland) has developed the Fatigue Friend app, which prevents full-blown episodes of chronic fatigue through a series of alerts based on early warning stages of fatigue.
- European Blockchain Vaccination Pass (Poland, Latvia) is an electronic vaccination passport that uses blockchain technology to enable the recording, tracking and monitoring of every vaccine administered.
- ELEM Biotech (Spain) has developed Alya Red, a ‘virtual human’ that simulates cardiovascular or respiratory systems for the medical devices and pharmaceutical industries.
- FeelTect (Ireland) has developed Tight Alright, a smart compression bandage that measures and monitors sub-bandage pressure for improved treatment of venous leg ulcers.
- Incareview (Ireland) is developing an app to enable caregivers to create and personalise care plans for patients on discharge from hospital.
- Pinpoint Innovations (Ireland) has developed Tracworx, a patient tracking system that aims to improve patient flow and increase hospital efficiency using a simple wearable device.
- Praxagoras (Netherlands) is developing Afi, an easy-to-use, unobtrusive monitoring system to help GPs prevent stroke by the early detection of atrial fibrillation.
- WaytoB (Ireland) is a smartphone and smartwatch solution to enable people with intellectual disabilities to navigate by themselves, while providing peace of mind to loved ones.
