Two Irish ehealth startups win prize worth… Leave a comment
Cymantic Medical and Frendo took home the prize as part of Dundalk Institute of Technology and Amazon Web Services’ “eHealth Embark” Digital Health Startup Academy
Two Irish ehealth startups have won a prize worth $100,000, after being declared victors in the ‘eHealth Embark’ Digital Health Startup Academy – an initiative run by Dundalk IT in conjunction with Amazon Web Services.
Both Cymantic Medical and Frendo were said to have ‘blown away’ judges with their potential to have a positive impact on patient outcomes.
Cymantic Medical is a computer vision-based platform that analyses body tissue for the presence of cancer. Frendo is an app that empowers endometriosis sufferers by allowing them to chart their symptoms.
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The pair took home of $100,000 worth of Amazon Web Service credits – which was split 75/25.
They can also avail of six months hot-desking at the Dundalk Institute of Technology as part of their prize.
Dearbhail Ormond, founder of Frendo, said she felt validated by the victory. “But on a more personal level it just means so much to me that opportunities are being given to raise awareness of endometriosis,” she said. “I’m so proud that we have a solution that is going to help others manage their condition and help those who suspect they may have endometriosis.”
Meanwhile, Stephen Geoghegan, founder of winning company, Cymantic Medical, said that developing a new medical device and bringing it to market can take a long time and be a very tentative process – so taking home the award will be helpful for taking things to the next level.
“The AWS credits we’ve been awarded give us access to powerful cloud computing resources that can now accelerate the development of our technology, which, we believe, can have a major impact for cancer patients and healthcare providers,” he said. “The tangible supports we’ve received, and will continue to receive, from AWS and the team at Dundalk IT will also undoubtedly go a long way in helping us to reach that goal.”
At total of nine companies participated. Dundalk’s dConnect Digital Health Innovation Hub and the Connected Health & Wellbeing Cluster offered a wide range of masterclasses and mentoring.
“The recruitment of the companies was in January, the companies were selected in March, and the event started at the end of April,” explained Sarah Nic Lochlainn, Community and Education Manager at Dundalk IT’s Digital Health Innovation Hub, speaking with IMT.
“There’s also weekly mentorship between April and June – so it’s a very busy time. The innovators need to make themselves available, to get themselves to the next level.”
Nic Lochlainn adds that they’re looking at a similar timeframe for next year when the initiative will run again.
Adjudicators included Martin Curley, Director, Digital Transformation and Open Innovation, HSE; Michael Twomey, Clinical Eval. Manager/Health Innovation Specialist, Health Innovation Hub Ireland; Joanna Wardinski, Head of Healthtech International, AWS; and Conor O’ Sullivan, Investment Director, Atlantic Bridge.
