Five small businesses have been given €100,000 to develop innovative new tech ideas to help fight diabetes, from remote monitoring tests to connected health platforms.
Over 96,000 people in Northern Ireland and 225,000 in Ireland are currently living with diabetes, with varying impacts on their medical health. Around 90% of those with the condition have type 2 diabetes, which has been associated with risk factors such as lack of exercise, poor quality of diet, and increased weight.
Medical technology firms have come up with some impressive tech to fight diabetes or improve quality of life in those with the condition, from implants and sensors to new testing methods that give early warning to pre-diabetic patients. Enterprise Ireland has now teamed up with the Health Service Executive to award five medtech SMEs €100,000 to develop new tech in this area:
- Bluedrop Medical was awarded for its remote monitoring and screening device that helps identify the development of diabetic foot ulcers, a complication from the condition that can become serious.
- Cadscan is developing a new low-cost foot screening tool that can work out a patient's risk of developing diabetic foot ulcers.
- Innerstrength is researching type 2 diabetes in women specifically after pregnancy.
- Infocare is developing a system that connects to medical devices to automatically upload test results to a patient’s medical records, helping those getting treatment at home.
- Jinga Life was awarded for its mobile digital health platform that helps manage a family's health information and medical appointments.
The awards were made through Enterprise Ireland's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme. All five companies will now be working with HSE diabetes clinicians to test the feasibility of their tech ideas. Successful ideas that make it through the testing process will go on to phase two, with further funding available to develop them into new commercial solutions.
Source: Enterprise Ireland
