BlueHealth Innovation Fund and imec.istart
Three times a year imec.istart launches an open call to look for startups that link innovative ICT to practical applications for the broad healthcare sector. Candidates are beyond the idea phase and will be coached, financially supported and advised in their growth, to become autonomous companies that are ready for international marketing. And thanks to the BlueHealth Innovation Fund the investment of 50K of imec.istart can be doubled. The members of the fund are UCB, UZA, The Cofoundry and in4care. Meet here the start-ups who are selected for the BlueHealth Innovation Fund and/or imec.istart.
COLLABORATION SPEEDS UP ACCELERATION
The collaboration between BlueHealth Innovation Center, imec.istart and industry partners can accelerate young HealthTech start-ups. Neuroventis is a good example of this collaboration.
MEET OUR PORTFOLIO COMPANIES
BloomUp
BloomUp is the first on-demand mental health platform in Belgium. In a few clicks adults are instantly matched with a mental health professional for an online video consultation. There is no waiting list and the first consultation is free of charge.
Kwarts
Proactively anticipating customer needs is complicated by siloed data, especially in Life Science. KWARTS connects the dots and breaks down the siloes between departments. Their AI-engines understand and visualize which engagement stage customers are in.
TelePHON.digital
TelePHON.digital, a medically certified all-in-one Saas with quality label, provides education, questioning, skillstraining and teleconsultation. The interactive videoconsultation has been recommended by the Belgian Task Force Against Corona.
Abelcare
Abelcare makes lab-testing easy, accessible and convenient for all patients. The doctor digitally requests a lab analysis for his patient while the patient receives a sampling kit and can take the sample within the comfort and safety of his home. The Abelcare platform also enables secure sharing of the test results.
Nutrinomics
Nutrinomics is a healthtech company on a mission to improve chronic patients’ quality of lives and chances of remission through combining Science, Data & Precision Nutrition. BlueHealth Innovation Fund invested in Nutrinomics in 2020.
HippoCreates
HippoCreates has developed a medical device that makes it possible to perform an allergy test completely autonomously and extremely accurately. Say goodbye to an annoying and expensive blood sampling or a manual and labor-intensive skin-prick test. In addition, the system supports the physician in interpreting the results, significantly reducing the margin of error.
Soulcenter
Soulcenter is an elderly engagement platform, designed to bring nursing home residents, employees, families and volunteers closer together. Soulcenter focuses on happiness with an emphasis on the personal stories of the residents. In 2019, this start-up was selected for the BlueHealth Innovation Fund and imec.istart.
ProteoFormix
ProteoFormiX was founded in 2017 by Prof. Dr. Peter Verhaert, after a career of more than 25 years in the pharmaceutical and academic world. ProteoFormiX wants to map out innovative biomarkers to more efficiently detect diseases that are difficult to diagnose , and to use them in the development of new medicines.
Asylia Diagnostics
Asylia Diagnostics is strongly committed to immunotherapy for cancer patients. They have developed an AI-enabled technology platform that allows for efficient identification of the right treatment for the right cancer patients, at the right time.
MOONBIRD
Moonbird is a young start-up that develops products that allow people to easily do relaxation and breathing exercises. The young tech company from Keerbergen recently launched their first device, which calculates and indicates a user's individual respiratory rhythm in order to guide them towards a soothing breathing flow.
SNEEZZ
By measuring the air everywhere and making that data widely available in its own app, the Limburg start-up Sneezz wants to help allergy sufferers with their discomfort. Do you have hay fever or another allergy? Download the Sneezz app and help yourself to get this annoying condition under control.
Creative Therapy
Creative Therapy aims to eliminate boredom during therapy by offering fun and motivational exergames. That's why they developed Matti, an interactive rehabilitation therapy tool that combines traditional therapy tools with an interactive online platform.
Neuroventis
The Neuroventis platform is a CE-marked medical device that aims to help patients manage and register their neurological disorders and share their health data with their medical team.
Epihunter
This start-up develops digital applications that support people with epilepsy in daily life. Now Epihunter focuses on children with epileptic seizures in the classroom, but afterwards they want to extend their focus to epilepsy at all ages and in all forms.
Karaton
One of the founders of Happs struggles already all his life with dyslexia, and therefore he came up with Karaton, a humorous and adventurous computer game that helps dyslexic children - through missions and fantasies - improve their spelling and reading skills. The game can be used by the speech therapist, but also to practice at home without feeling like extra homework.
Play it Safe
Greygin is a young startup with the ambition to save lives with games! Greygin was founded by Brecht Kets and Mike Ptacek. Both have been part of the world-renowned Digital Arts and Entertainment program at Howest for years. Together with their two employees, they want to combine education and games to build socially relevant projects.
NephroFlow
Haemodialysis is a treatment that is taxing on the patient, but is also operationally complex. In dialysis centres, the smooth-running of it is everything. The innovative solution NephroFlow streamlines the processes that provide an efficient and high-quality treatment for each patient. At the end of 2019, NephroFlow was acquired by Nipro, one of the world's largest suppliers of medical equipment to dyalysis centers.
LynxCare
Doctors spend hours each day on admin, time they would rather invest in the care of their patients. Startup Lynxcare has developed software that records medical data efficiently and makes it available to patients and physicians. The purpose of the new technology is for physicians to save time and provide quality medical care to patients with complex files.