Ten start-ups develop technologies to improve health care systems
Good luck to the successful applicants. This week, digital health start-ups from Ireland and Europe converge on Trinity College Dublin. Their aim? To discover technologies that promote healthy living, support active ageing and improve current healthcare systems. No easy feat.
The first of its kind in Ireland, the incubator is open to health tech start-ups from the medical and technology sectors. Companies who are just starting off have the opportunity to validate their ideas and identify suitable markets.
The Programme
Validator is a collaboration between TCD and EIT Health, and has attracted an eclectic mix of entries. 2018’s start-ups are made up of health/science researchers, medical professionals, software engineers, digital innovators, pharma specialists, medical device experts and business developers. They hail from Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Poland and Latvia.
The first six weeks will see the teams undergo intensive validation and mentoring activities in TCD. After this, it's time to take those technologies on tour. The applicants spend two weeks visiting health tech hubs across Europe — TU Delft, Netherlands; Grenoble EM, France; Imperial College London and Newcastle University.
The Projects
The competition is fierce. To even gain entry, each team had to prove that their venture met certain - and difficult - criteria. It must be a defensible technology, have measurable health benefit to society and can be delivered within a realistic timeframe.
Those under development include:
- BrainyApp which has developed the Fatigue Friend app to help prevent full-blown episodes of chronic fatigue through a series of early warning alerts.
- Praxagoras, which is developing an easy to use, monitoring system to help GPs prevent stroke by the early detection of Atrial Fibrillation.
- Pinpoint Innovations which has developed a wearable tracking device which monitors the amount of time patients spend in each stage of their care in the hospital setting.
For more information about the start-ups themselves, their fantastic innovations or the EIT Health Validator programme, visit www.tcd.ie
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