Propel@YH, an accelerator programme that helps digital health innovators to navigate the NHS, is based in the Yorkshire and Humber region, and has announced the date for this year’s Demo Day, which will celebrate the 2020-21 cohort’s successful completion of the programme.
The programme, organised by Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network (Yorkshire & Humber AHSN), focused this year on identifying digital health SMEs who could demonstrate innovative digital health solutions able to support the healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.10 companies were selected to take part in the programme, which started on 26th October.
Each successful application has had access to a series of masterclasses to support them ahead of their launch, as well as the support of the programme’s key partners, including the University of Leeds’ innovation hub, Nexus, which supports the programme through research and innovation expertise and membership to their community of high growth tech start-ups and SMEs, Barclays Eagle Labs, who provide business support through their national incubator network and leading health law firm Hill Dickinson LLP, who have returned for the second year as legal partners. Leeds City Council has also supported the programme for a second time.
The Demo Day, which will take place on Wednesday 31st March, will allow the cohort to present their business models and prototypes to investors, experts within the MedTech field and members of the Yorkshire & Humber AHSN. The event will be hosted by Jon Fordham, Digital Navigator for the programme and include an introduction by Neville Young, Yorkshire & Humber AHSN’s Director of Enterprise and Innovation.
The successful applicants who have taken part in the 2020 programme include:
- Co-Opts ltd; a smart speaker for automated recording, transcription and summarisation of therapy sessions
- CyberLiver Ltd; remote monitoring of at-risk cirrhosis patients using wearables and an app
- I.M.M.E; a VR experience created to support Williams syndrome, supporting isolation, rehab mobility and mental health
- Liria Digital Health; a technological solution addressing the health and wellbeing of perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal people.
- My Food 24; an online food diary system which automates the diet tracking and analysis process
- SeeAI; a platform that supports early fracture diagnosis through x-ray images
- Ufonia Ltd; an AI-enabled accessible clinical assistant called Dora that can conduct an intelligent clinical conversation via a regular voice telephone call
- Vastmindz; an AI face analysis app to measure real-time heart and respiration rates, oxygen saturation, stress level, blood pressure and atrial fibrillation risk
- Warner Patch; a non-invasive, wearable wireless (using 2G network) sensor that predicts tissue health disease evolution using AI for clinicians to give preventive care, improve patient outcome and save care costs
- Written Medicine; a pharmacy label and discharge summary translation system, that works across 11 different languages
Neville Young, Director of Enterprise and Innovation for the Yorkshire & Humber AHSN, said: “We are overwhelmed by the talent and enthusiasm of this year’s cohort, who have embraced the support and knowledge of both our partners and the Propel@YH team. The Demo Day will be a wonderful celebration of the achievements of our applicants over the last six months, as well as a chance to thank our experts and speakers who have adapted to a fully remote course. As a result of the pandemic, all the masterclasses and networking events were held online – although this is a completely different format to previous years, both the programme and participants adapted brilliantly to ensure the opportunity was maximised for all involved.
“This is the second time we’ve been able to offer this great opportunity for innovative digital and data-driven health companies and we are so excited to see what the future holds for our cohort, as well as beginning to plan for next year’s programme”.
Secure your place for this year’s Demo Day here: https://propel-yh-demoday.eventbrite.co.uk