We are delighted to announce winners of the European Patient Digital Health Awards. The awards acknowledge and celebrate the transformative impact technology and scientific advancements are making through healthcare innovation.
This year marks the third year of awards, and this year standards remained exceptionally high with winners excelling at their commitment to excellence in healthcare innovation.
Founded by MSD, in partnership with Digital Health Academy, and Allied for StartUps, the awards witnessed the selection of three outstanding winners by a panel of judges comprising patient representatives and start-up entrepreneurs.
- Category 1: Digital Prevention and Diagnostics
BrainTrip Dementia Index (BDI) - Malta: is a market-disrupting machine learning prediction tool for the reliable and cost-effective diagnosis and monitoring of dementia. By analysing high-quality EEG data, the BDI algorithm can detect subtle changes before visible symptoms appear, with an impressive accuracy rate of 94%. The 15-minute EEG test is easy to use and requires minimal training for staff at any facility, demonstrating BrainTrip's commitment to advancing dementia diagnosis and care.
Co-founder Jurij Dreo shared: “We at BrainTrip extend our deepest gratitude to the Judging Panel Members at the European PDHA 2023 for selecting us as winners in the Digital Prevention and Diagnostics category. This honour energizes our commitment to introducing our pioneering EEG-based, neuroscience and AI-powered solution for early dementia detection to hospitals and senior care facilities alike. We're thrilled to extend our efforts in democratizing the early detection of dementia, empowering clinicians with a fast, affordable, and reliable diagnostic support tool, and providing patients with timely and effective monitoring that can help slow down cognitive decline through timely pharmacological interventions. More broadly speaking, this recognition fuels our dedication to advancing healthcare accessibility and innovation.”
- Category 2: New Ways of Interacting with Healthcare Teams and Providers, Mental Health and Social Support
WithVR – Belgium: provides customizable virtual reality speaking situations to support speech therapists and researchers in empowering individuals to use their beautiful voices. Currently collaborating with global experts, WithVR strives to ensure that anyone can use their voice proudly whenever they like, no matter their differences. Initially designed for stuttering, it now benefits diverse groups enabling practice in real-world scenarios to enhance communication skills and combat discrimination.
Founder Gareth Walkom, expressed: “We are so proud and honoured to be receiving this award for our recognition in the work we do. This award will help us to further advance our technology for speech therapists and researchers to support individuals to use their beautiful voices. As a person who stutters, I know firsthand how vital this tool is for individuals like me to improve quality of life.”
- Category 3: Disease Monitoring and Therapeutics
ENDO APP- Germany: is a smartphone-based digital health application (DiGA) with BfArM-approved insurance coverage. Prescribed by doctors – just like medication, this evidence-based app is designed for patients with endometriosis and/or adenomyosis findings. The Endo app empowers patients to seamlessly integrate continuous multimodal (pain) therapy into their daily lives.
Founder Dr med. Nadine Rohloff said: "We are deeply honoured to have our 'Endo-App' selected as the winner in the category 'Disease Monitoring and Therapeutics.' This award is a testament to our team's unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence in healthcare technology. Our experience with the Award has been incredibly inspiring, putting more awareness on endometriosis! We are excited to share this journey with the EU, MSD, the endo Communities, and other organizations and look forward to making a significant impact on healthcare outcomes together."
What the founding partners of the award and the jury members say:
David Earnshaw, Associate Vice President, European Public Policy, MSD said: "At MSD we exist to save and improve lives, but we cannot do this alone. We are therefore proud to support visionaries who are shaping the future of healthcare through digital solutions that make a significant difference for patients."
Melissa Blaustein, Founder and CEO of Allied for Startups said: “We are proud to see the winners of the EU Patient Digital Health Awards be recognised for their exemplary work in patient-centric innovation. They are setting a high standard of what can be achieved through entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to improving patient care. Their achievements reflect the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem within our startup community. We look forward to welcoming the winners at the AFS HealthTech Congress in 2024!"
Mariano Votta, Director of Active Citizenship Network (ACN) said: “EU PDHA is an accelerator of change. Innovation in healthcare should not and cannot be stopped. It can, however, be better oriented in the direction of what are the real needs of the final users: the patients, while fully respecting their rights, and the doctors. Reinforcing the collaboration among these categories with the managers of digital health solutions would also help a lot to create a widespread culture in line with the European Health Data Space that aims to empower individuals across the EU to fully exercise their rights over their health data."
Lydia Makaroff, President of World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition said: “We want to encourage digital tools that help patients and their carers - to take good ideas and help to make them widely available. By doing this, we hope to make healthcare better for everyone.”