Industry news in brief

This Digital Health News industry roundup covers award wins for AVERio at this year’s StartUp Awards and for University Hospital Southampton midwives at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) annual awards.

AVERio announced as winner at prestigious StartUp Awards

AVERio, a pioneering company in the field of fall detection technology, has announced a recent win at this year’s StartUp Awards North West.

The fall detection and monitoring software provider was named Rebel StartUp of the Year for 2023, thanks to their work in moving the care industry forward by introducing new technology to benefit care home staff and those receiving care.

The Rebel StartUp award recognises the best new and innovative businesses that defy the norms, using their innovation and confidence to disrupt their industry and create their own identity.

AVERio co-founders Phil Neilson and Matthew Bailey were presented the award by radio and TV personality Polly James at a glitzy ceremony in Liverpool on 25th May.

CardioRenal receives FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for TENOR

CardioRenal, a pioneer in the remote treatment of patients with severe chronic kidney disease (CKD), has revealed that its TENOR device has obtained Breakthrough Device Designation from the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) of the US Food and Drug Administration.

CardioRenal developed TENOR, a connected medical device that combines multiple innovative technologies to assist patients with chronic illnesses, including CKD, in measuring their blood potassium levels at home.

Patients will collect blood for testing at home using Tasso+^TM, a convenient, easy-to-use, virtually pain-free blood collection device with FDA 510(k) Class II medical device clearance.

Doctors can then remotely access the measured data, enabling them to effectively control and normalize patient potassium levels.

“This designation is a tremendous recognition by the FDA of our R&D excellence. It will boost our efforts in bringing the TENOR device to the millions of patients who need it,” said Maurice Bérenger, CEO of CardioRenal.

“We look forward to working closely with the FDA to start our clinical trials later this year.”

Hyro raises $20m in funding to advance responsible AI-powered communications

Hyro, the leader in plug-and-play conversational AI, has announced that it has secured a $20 million Series B funding round led by Macquarie Capital, with participation from new investors Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Black Opal Ventures, and K20, as well as existing investors Hanaco Ventures, Spero Ventures, and Mindset Ventures—bringing the company’s total funding to $35 million.

With this capital raise, Hyro will continue to meet the healthcare sector’s critical demand for conversational AI and automation, enabling large organisations to streamline access to digital services for their patients and staff while drastically improving operational efficiencies.

Hyro plans to hire top talent across all departments as it continues to build out its no-code platform for AI-powered call center, web, and mobile solutions, while also expanding strategic partnerships, integrations and use cases across key industries where it is already experiencing strong traction.

BridgeHead Software awarded certification in recognition of cyber security standards

BridgeHead Software, a leader in healthcare data management, has been awarded the Cyber Essentials Plus certification in recognition of its high cyber security standards.

Organisations that are certified for Cyber Essentials Plus undergo a technical audit of their systems to verify the requisite Cyber Essentials controls are in place.

BridgeHead has successfully met all certification criteria as stated by the IASME (The Information Assurance for Small and Medium Enterprises) Consortium, the independent certifying body that delivers the Government’s National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Essentials scheme.

This latest accreditation builds on BridgeHead’s existing credentials, which has seen it previously awarded the Cyber Essentials certification, providing healthcare organisations with the assurance that BridgeHead has advanced security measures in place.

Southampton midwives scoop national award for app that improves maternity safety

Three midwives working at University Hospital Southampton have won a national award for their work developing an ‘incredibly successful’ app that improves maternity care for women during their pregnancy.

The midwives received the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Midwifery Services: Digital’ award at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) annual awards in London on 19 May. 

Holly Green, Kim Allen and Layla Toomer designed an app which allows pregnant women to access information at the touch of a button on any concerns they have.

The women input the details of their pregnancy, and then the app then uses a traffic light system – green, amber and red to triage the issues in terms of seriousness. This allows expectant mothers to be quickly reassured and understand if the symptoms should be reported to their midwife.

For example if the women input the symptoms and it’s designated amber and they are 20 weeks into their pregnancy, it automatically links them to the maternity telephone line which is staffed by midwives. If needed, the app also allows them to make an appointment straight away and shares their notes across their local trusts.

On receiving their award, Holly, Kim and Layla said: “We’re consistently seeing people accessing the app 15,000 times in a month. In 80% of cases, those women aren’t then having to go to a healthcare professional. Their queries are being answered and they’re being reassured.”