A smart wearable to monitor the health status of children, a platform that combines DNA testing with proprietary algorithms to solve health problems with customised solutions, an innovative technology for remote visual rehabilitation of visually impaired brain-injured patients, a communication system that simplifies doctor-patient interaction, and an ‘end-to-end’ solution to prevent childhood cognitive disorders. These are the five proposals from five Italian health startups selected by Vita, the digital health accelerator of the National Network of Accelerators of CDP Venture Capital, supported by Healthware Group and Accelerace, which operationally manage the programme, hosted within OpenZone, the scientific campus created in Bresso (a small town near Milan) by Zcube, a research venture of the Zambon Group, which has already supported 36 startups in the last four years.

The difficulties of the Italian ecosystem

Vita’s planned course hosted foreign specialists so that startups could understand how to approach the digital health market on a global scale. This international initiative is important for Italy. In terms of development, investment and ecosystem needs to catch up in the field of Digital Health with countries such as France and Germany. Creating interest and giving visibility to useful solutions for saving lives and improving the lives of those who suffer is the priority.

Generally speaking, in Italy, well-prepared teams can create effective devices and technologies. Still, the next step is often missing because it is challenging to transform projects into companies capable of reaching the market and making a significant impact. This is a decisive aspect for startups in every field, and even more so in the healthcare sector, where more than elsewhere, it is necessary to structure oneself in relation to the needs of the market.

Chosen from 120 applications received from 20 different countries, the five startups completed the Vita programme after a four-month journey, alternating between online sessions and face-to-face meetings with more than 50 mentors and digital health experts from the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, who imparted skills and experience through business training workshops and working sessions aimed at creating pilot projects to be tested in the market.

Each startup received an initial investment of €110,000, with the opportunity to receive follow-on funding of up to €400,000. So let’s see what the five startups accelerated by Vita are and what they are developing. In the meantime, Vita has opened a new call for startups interested in having a registered office in Italy. Those interested can apply here by 17 April.

The five startups selected by Vita

HuCare

Those who have no idea about the daily routine of doctors may find it surprising that they spend almost half of their time on administrative tasks. This is something that needs to be addressed in order to reduce the time and allow professionals to focus on the practical side. This is the goal of HuCare, a Florence-based startup that has developed a cloud-based PRM (Patient Relationship Management) to shorten the time it takes to process healthcare data. Secure and GDPR-compliant, it is a tool that allows patients and caregivers to manage all aspects of communication quickly and easily.

Evotion

A wristband for children aged 0-5 years to monitor heart rate, oxygen saturation, temperature and other biometric parameters, even during sleep. If necessary, the data can be sent to paediatricians, who view it via a desktop app to determine whether, how and when to intervene. This is the solution from Evotion, a Caserta-based startup that uses a series of proprietary algorithms to analyse the values stored on the cloud and inform parents of their children’s health status.

Linari Medical

Founded in Pisa in 2018 as a spinoff of Linari engineering and a pioneer in Neuro Visual Rehabilitation in Telemedicine with AvDesk, a medical device protected by an international patent. This Linari Medical reactivate multisensory neurons through 180° audio-visual stimulation, and the fields of application are many: visual impairments, hearing impairments, cognitive impairment, and cognitive enhancement. AvDesk Telemedicine device can be used at home, thanks to its AI system to guide and monitor the patient in real-time and the Linari Medical Cloud platform that allows synchronous and asynchronous doctor follow-up. Present with AvDesk in many hospitals, with 20 hours of therapy; the solution has rehabilitated more than 200 patients with visual impairments (children and adults) obtaining brain plasticisation confirmed by MRI.

InGeno

Cross-referencing genetic data with health and lifestyle data to identify skin and hair disorders, providing personalizing treatment pathways. Using the patented DNA analysis system, InGeno outlines an individual’s genetic predisposition to certain risk factors and measures the cellular damage caused to the body by common skin and hair problems. Those who want to try it out can purchase DNA tests on the startup’s online shop.

Paperbox Health

Identifying cognitive disorders in children is the goal of the startup founded in Turin, whose first product is Dino, a screening system developed in collaboration with the Italian Dyslexia Association. A video game with a 15-minute session in which predictive signals related to childhood disorders are analysed is used to detect possible impairments in children aged five years or older. A way that combines fun and attention to analyse the child’s behaviour and understand how to intervene preventively to remedy the possible cognitive disorder.