We’re delighted to present our finalists for the category of “Digital inclusion and improving health inequalities”:
LightHearted AI: Improving health inequalities through photonics for early heart disease diagnosis
Overview: Across the UK, women die twice more than men because of heart valve diseases due to diagnostic tools that overlook female-specific disease features. LightHearted AI has developed LightScope, a laser-based device that can identify sex-specific biomarkers to increase accuracy in diagnosis of both sexes and close the gender diagnosis gap.
What happened? Heart Valve Disease (HVD) impacts up to one in four adults over the age of 65, and with an ageing population, its prevalence is expected to triple by 2060. Despite the fact that women present with HVD differently from men, diagnostic tools do not account for these differences. LightHearted AI Health has developed LightScope, a novel, non-contact diagnostic device powered by AI. Using eye-safe laser speckle sensing and photonics, LightScope detects microscopic skin vibrations on the neck to capture heart sounds, ECG, and blood pressure in a 15-second scan, with an accuracy of 90 percent for severe HVD. They identified female-specific biomarkers in heart sound patterns and used these to build algorithms tailored to female cardiac physiology. They have refined their ability to detect high-frequency murmurs common in female heart disease, often missed by traditional stethoscopes, and the lower-amplitude, lower-frequency sounds produced by fibrotic valves, under-diagnosed by ultrasounds. For women and those from underrepresented communities, the impact is a timely shift toward accurate, earlier and more equitable diagnosis. For clinicians, Lightscope offers a rapid, non-contact tool that enhances confidence in identifying HVD.
Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre: Digital Lifelines Scotland
Overview: Digital Lifelines Scotland, a programme delivered in partnership with SCVO and Simon Community Scotland, seeks to improve the health outcomes for people at risk of drug harm through improving digital inclusion and designing digital solutions that better meet people’s needs.
What happened? Digital inclusion funding through Digital Lifelines Scotland supported organisations to make sure that people have digital access through devices, and the skills, confidence, and motivation to use them. Digital Lifelines Scotland also supported the design and development of innovative digital solutions, for example technological solutions to reduce drug overdoses through connections to responder networks. All funded partners had access to the Digital Lifelines Scotland resources including Digital Inclusion Playbook, an online resource to help organisations deliver person-centred digital inclusion support to people who use drugs; Community of Learning monthly events for service providers to meet and share experiences; and Digital Harm Reduction Champion training. Through Early Adopter funding and the Small Grants Awards, Digital Lifelines Scotland has supported 35 public, third sector and voluntary organisations to deliver Digital Inclusion services, and supported over 5,502 people at risk of drug harm, issuing a total of 3,044 devices and 3,845 connections (SIM cards and mifi devices) so far. Evaluation of the programme in 2023 found evidences that digital inclusion through devices and connectivity promoted relationships, community, and connections.
First 4 Health Group: Equity-led digital transformation at First 4 Health Group
Overview: First 4 Health Group is transforming digital access in primary care through a whole-system approach rooted in inclusion, trust, and community. From digital inclusion clinics to maternal equity programmes and local wellbeing initiatives, we are closing the gap for underserved groups and redefining what truly inclusive digital health looks like.
What happened? First 4 Health Group provides care for over 50,000 patients across four GP practices in North East London, an area with high levels of diversity and health inequality. Monthly Digital Inclusion Clinics give patients practical help with the NHS App, online forms, and messaging so they can confidently access care. We also introduced structured digital triage via eConsult. By April 2025, over 91 percent of requests were made digitally, with only five percent by phone. Across the group, almost 135,000 requests were submitted online in the past year. At Stratford Village, average call waiting time fell from two minutes 34 seconds in April 2024 to just over one minute in April 2025. We have also launched a dedicated community website for patients and a platform to access our Personalised Care Team-led events such as Together in Grief (bereavement support) and Weight 4 Wellness (weight management support). F4HG’s Maternal Health Project tackles entrenched inequalities. We partnered with Ellescope to develop the MPrisk tool – a data-driven maternal psychosocial risk assessment platform designed to identify vulnerable families earlier. Alongside this, we created The Maternity Space – a series of digitally accessible group clinics led by care teams for women who are trying to conceive, pregnant, or in the postpartum period.
Think Healthcare (Focus Group): Beyond the app: Real access for all
Overview: Horizon Healthcare transformed access by automating phone-based admin requests instead of GP triage. Patients without apps can now self-serve by phone 24/7. With 1,500 fewer monthly calls and a Google review increase from 2.1 to 4.3, they’ve improved inclusion, efficiency and patient satisfaction – without leaving anyone behind.
What happened? Together with Think Healthcare, Horizon deployed Virtual Care Navigator, a fully integrated phone-based automation system that replicates receptionist workflows. It integrated the system into their SystmOne clinical system, routed automated tasks to dedicated team “slots”, protected GP bookings for human triage, used SMS and comms tools to send PIN-protected self-booking links for chronic disease reviews and recalls, and ran targeted booking campaigns. Results and impact include 1,500 fewer phone calls per month, admin tasks now processed automatically with no patient queue, receptionists freed up to handle complex access queries and vulnerable patients, Google review rating increased from 2.1 to 4.3, and reduced risk of digital exclusion by ensuring access via phone. The system has led to a measurable improvement in feedback and outcomes. Horizon’s population includes patients from deprived communities, recent arrivals to the UK, and those who avoid online tools. By providing a 24/7 phone-based digital route, access to real services, not just triage, multichannel support for booking care and requesting documents, and a practice-designed workflow that reflects local need, they have widened access while preserving the human core of general practice.
Good Things Foundation: Creating new ways to build trust and confidence in digital health services to increase their use
Overview: Our research explored the ways that people’s beliefs and trust can act as barriers to them using digital health services and accessing timely and appropriate care. We co-designed a resource to facilitate conversation about these concerns, to increase confidence to use digital health services.
What happened? Good Things Foundation conducted research, identifying core belief and trust barriers that limit people’s motivation to use digital health services. These barriers included lack of trust in privacy and data sharing, and concern about lack of choice and autonomy. Beliefs were often that care through digital services may be of poorer quality, or there may be difficulty in explaining or communicating effectively due to language and literacy levels. The belief also existed that digital health services may be difficult to use. This understanding led us to co-design a resource to address barriers to using digital health services. This involved exploring ideas for the content, form and design of the resource, as well as considering the context in which the resource would be best used. The co-design process informed what the resource would cover – information that addresses their concerns, troubleshooting information, positive examples of successful use, reassurance and signposting to additional support. It also informed the form and design of the resource and how it should be used in context – in multiple different settings, embedded within other initiatives and interactions. The final design has been promoted with front line digital health colleagues as well as community organisations.
As Simple As That Technologies LTD (ASAT): Making medical language understandable for all
Overview: ASAT is an AI-powered system that simplifies clinical documents into patient-friendly language, improving understanding, adherence, and safety.It uses medical-grade linguistic rules, visual aids, and read-aloud support. In a clinical pilot at a rehabilitation centre, ASAT reduced errors and freed clinical staff from repeated explanations.
What happened? ASAT transforms dense medical language into clear, accessible, and personalised formats using natural language processing and linguistic simplification rules. It is built specifically to assist people with low health literacy, cognitive impairments, linguistic barriers, and aging-related comprehension decline. It uses over 400 medical simplification rules which identify and simplify medical jargon, clinical abbreviations, and long sentence structures into step-by-step, readable, and visually guided outputs. Key features include plain language rewriting of medical text, tailored to individual comprehension levels, simple actionable instructions for post-care or medication use, and optional read-aloud functionality for those with reading difficulties. ASAT is currently in clinical pilot at Adi Negev – Nahalat Eran, a rehabilitation hospital in Israel. The pilot focuses on simplifying discharge letters for patients with cognitive disabilities. Early results are promising: clinicians report significantly less time spent explaining documents, while patients and caregivers express improved clarity and confidence in post-hospital care. ASAT is designed in full compliance with the NHS Accessible Information Standard, and supports integration with existing EHR systems and patient portals.
