Five digital health initiatives have been awarded funding as part of a £150,000 call to action for new and innovative ways to use digital technology in response to coronavirus and beyond. The call to action was coordinated by Digital Health Ecosystem Wales, a collaboration between Life Sciences Hub Wales and the NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS).
The 5 winning initiatives announced today will support the rapid piloting and evaluation of new digital platforms, apps and technologies to determine their long-term use and potential.
The winners were picked by a panel which include NHS, Welsh Government and industry representatives, and responses were co-ordinated by Digital Health Ecosystem Wales.
The 5 winners are:
- PhysioNow by Connect Health – a physiotherapy chat-bot providing 24/7 triage and support for musculoskeletal conditions
- Medopad by Huma Therapeutics – a real-time remote patient monitoring system allowing for symptomatic patients to remain home rather than be admitted to hospital
- MedTRiM by DNA Definitive – currently a face-to-face service within NHS Wales, the app will enable support for those exposed to trauma in the workplace to continue digitally
- CliniTouch Vie by Spirit Digital – patient monitoring supporting the management of COVID-19 patients in the community post-discharge
- SPOT by Healthy.IO – a wound assessment app which scans wounds and shares images with tissue viability nurses, district nurses and GPs for further assessment
Andy McCann, Co-Director of Wales-based DNA Definitive, developers of the MedTRiM app, said:
"This opportunity has created a unique collaborative partnership that will provide support to NHS Wales’ service delivery throughout the current COVID-19 pandemic response and beyond.
We will now develop, test and be able to scale-up an online trauma resilience course based on our acclaimed Medical Trauma Resilience Management (MedTRiM) Programme. The course will provide a credible framework for managing adverse psychological consequences for staff exposed to potentially traumatic events during the course of their work and will develop practitioners to assist organisational leaders and managers in supporting colleagues with the psychological aspects of potentially traumatic events."
Vaughan Gething, Minister for Health and Social Services, said:
"As we work towards a ‘new normal’, innovative solutions such as these platforms can support our health services to be delivered in a different but safe way.
Today’s winners are beginning a fantastic opportunity to test and develop technologies which offer the largest impact and best value solutions for a variety of health-related issues, for staff and patients."
Helen Northmore, Manager of the Digital Health Ecosystem Wales programme, a collaboration between Life Sciences Hub Wales and the NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS), said:
"We were impressed with the breadth and quality of applications to the Digital Solutions Fund - it was inspiring to see the many new and innovative ways technology is being used to support patients, staff and citizens.
The projects selected demonstrated how digital solutions can give people tools to help them manage their condition and their wellbeing in their home or work environment. I am excited to see the results from the rapid pilots later this summer."