HTN 100

HTN 100: eConsult, Nexus, Combinostics, Dr Foster and Ada Health

eConsult reaches 1,000th GP practice 

A GP practice in Hertfordshire has become the 1,000th customer to use the online consultation service from eConsult.

Dr Murray Ellender, CEO of eConsult said “Successfully launching eConsult in our 1,000th practice is a huge achievement. The introduction of this new service will allow the people of Welwyn Garden City to quicken their route to the right consultation for their condition, whilst also alleviating pressure on clinicians at the practice.”

Nexus member joins with University of Leeds to drive medical innovation in India

One of Nexus’ newest members, Pd-m, will showcase its medical innovation to surgeons in India this month.

The company, which moved to Nexus, the University of Leeds’ innovation hub earlier this year, was commissioned by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) to convert a medical device concept into an innovative and easy to manufacture product for licensing.

The intra-abdominal retraction platform creates an internal scaffold structure to enable surgeons to reach patients’ organs which sit behind other body parts and negating the need for gas, was developed by a multidisciplinary team, including academics at the University and surgeons at LTHT.

Pd-m was able to take the initial prototype and create a patented, cost-effective device feasible for manufacture in low and middle income countries, which is also disposable – avoiding the need for expensive sterilisation.

Combinostics raises €3.9M to support early Alzheimer’s diagnosis by healthcare professionals

Finnish health tech pioneer Combinostics has announced the closure of a €3.9M series A funding round that will see the company scale its platform for early-stage Alzheimer’s diagnosis to the US and Asia.

There are no effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, but early-stage diagnosis combined with symptomatic treatment and lifestyle intervention can make a drastic difference to quality of life in later years. A vast amount of heterogeneous data is collected during the diagnostic workup, so it can be challenging for healthcare professionals to interpret and identify relationships that exist between different data sets. Combinostics provides an intuitive and holistic view of the patient’s data, highlighting important relationships early on and supporting early diagnosis.

Patrik Sobocki, Investment Manager, Industrifonden  “Combinostics has built a product platform from cutting-edge research that will enhance neurology departments worldwide. Their platform supports improved diagnostic accuracy and treatment choice by combining all relevant biomarkers with advanced brain image quantification, leading to improved health in neurology patients.”

Dr Foster’s welcomes new advisory board

Six NHS leaders have joined the Dr Foster’s advisory board to provide a consultative forum and support strategic direction.

The advisory board comprises of: Simon Roberts: Independent Health Consultant (NHS and private sector health), recent Senior Advisor NHS England System Transformation Group, NHS Non-Executive Director; Ruth Holland, deputy CIO at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; Andy Haynes, executive lead at Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System; Gregg Holland, CIO at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Paul Davies, independent consultant and managing director at Hilltop; and Mike Farrar, former chief executive of the NHS Confederation.

Jason Harries, Dr Foster’s chief executive, said “The formation of the new advisory board is an exciting move for Dr Foster and will allow us to continue to enhance our products and services so that healthcare organisations can better meet population health needs. We look forward to working closely with board members to engage with key issues and challenges and hope to drive real change in the healthcare sector.”

Ada AI-based medical app to be offered in Swahili

Ada, the AI-powered health platform that helps individuals understand their health and navigate to appropriate care, has announced the launch of its Global Health Initiative (GHI), a series of major projects focused on improving the availability and delivery of primary care in underserved populations worldwide.

“Since launching Ada, we’ve heard hundreds of stories about how the app has improved or even saved lives,” said Daniel Nathrath, CEO and co-founder of Ada. “Often these stories come from parts of the world where it can be extremely difficult to see a doctor or get professional medical advice – but where people do own, or have access to, a smartphone. By partnering with organisations that share our vision for the future of healthcare, we are increasing Ada’s impact in developing economies, and moving forward our mission to make quality, personalised care a reality for everyone.”

By partnering with Fondation Botnar, Ada will become the first health guidance app to feature Swahili language integration, making its health assessment technology available to more than 100 million people.

The new Swahili and Romanian language integrations will be deployed initially in East Africa and Romania.

 

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