Yorkshire and Humber AHSN announce cohorts for Accelerator programme

Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network’s has launched the latest edition of its digital health accelerator programme, Propel@YH.

This year, 11 SMEs have been selected to participate in the programme, including companies with innovations that can help minimise health inequalities, support the workforce and empower patients to help themselves.  

The cohorts for this year’s programme are: 

• VIKO.ai – a platform that supports patients to help themselves through AI-powered digital self-service. 
• Enable2 – supporting the easy and rapid online booking of interpreters. 
• Careology – Connecting cancer patients to their clinical team and caregivers to provide digital support. 
• Weather Flare – an app that delivers real-time, personalised weather forecasts, predicting ‘good’, ‘bearable’ and ‘bad’ days up to five days in advance. 
• CareNetworx – a care management app supporting families coordinating care for loved ones with long-term health conditions. 
• ehealth Compass – a clinical CRM platform that helps to reduce health inequalities by matching patients to the right pathway. 
• Better Medicine – AI-powered tools for doctors, to help diagnose and fight cancer in more efficient and accurate ways. 
• Medwise.ai – a search engine for healthcare professionals to find information at the point of care. 
• The Pulse Health – a secure communication and community platform app to connect health and social care workers. 
• ADDVantage Technologies – tech-enabled solutions and associated data-driven insights to deliver efficiencies and sustainability. 
• Recreo VR – packages for care home residents and their carers to help to them relive past memories and create new ones.  

Neville Young, director of enterprise and innovation at the Yorkshire and Humber AHSN said: “We’re excited to launch this programme again in 2022 with an increased focus on sustainability this year that has been encouraged by our latest sponsor, the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership.  

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the chosen SMEs to receive expert advice and guidance from the AHSN and our key partners, so they can navigate the NHS market, increase their presence in the region and spread their innovations for the benefit of those living and working in Yorkshire and the Humber.” 

The Propel@YH programme will deliver a six-month course of structure support and advice, to help accelerate company growth and increase the selected organisations’ market presence.  

Support will be gained through a number of organisations. Hill Dickinson will offer legal advice, funding guidance will be provided by Barclays Eagle Labs, while West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership will support the programme with advice to improve environmental sustainability impact. 

In addition, Nexus University of Leeds and Leeds City Council will deliver networking opportunities. In January this year, the Yorkshire & Humber AHSN hosted an event at the University of Leeds to showcase some of the innovators they worked with in its previous Propel@YH programme. 

Masterclasses will also be part of the programme, being delivered by Thrive by Design, YHEC and HMA, while Yorkshire & Humber AHSN will focus on 1-2-1 and group mentoring sessions.  

The Yorkshire & Humber AHSN is one of 15 networks set up by NHS England to operate as the innovation arm of the NHS.