Health Tech is a fast-growing tech sector that’s enhancing the way the health and medicine industry can operate. Technological innovations such as AI and Blockchain will be instrumental in enabling current and emerging Health Tech companies to meet the demands of consumers.
In the wake of the devastating global pandemic, there has been an increased reliance on technology in the health sector. The current global situation is highlighting the value and necessity of investing in Health Tech. The app LIVI is a prime example of how tech is improving the way more people can access healthcare through enabling virtual GP consultations, advice and prescriptions.
Female health workers make up around 70% of the global health workforce, yet statistics show only 9.7% of funding goes to female-founded Health Tech start-ups. Health Tech is no exception when it comes to the persistence of the gender gap in tech. However, as with other sectors such as FinTech and Travel Tech, there are trailblazing female role models in Health Tech disrupting the sector.
Here are four truly groundbreaking Health Tech companies led by women:
Oxford Heartbeat supports surgical decision making through groundbreaking technology. The company was founded by Katerina Spranger, PhD who has been celebrated as “founder striving to change the world” by Forbes, and “Young Innovator of the Year 2013”. The technology is advancing the way surgeons perform neurovascular surgery. Oxford Heartbeats tech has developed a device that supports the planning of neurovascular surgery involving stent devices. The software predicts the behaviour of both the stent and the individual patient’s anatomy to then ensure the surgeon can select the optimum device for the patient.
Lantum was founded in 2011 by Melissa Morris. Lantum is modernising the way healthcare organisations connect with the health workforce by serving as a platform for them to find and manage staff. Said to have saved the NHS around £7.7 million, Lantum is at the forefront in helping to solve the NHS staffing crisis. Lantum is demonstrating the value in a diverse and inclusive workplace with just under 50% of the workforce being female and eleven nationalities, they have established themselves as champions for diversity and inclusion in Health Tech.
Co-founded by Samantha Payne and Joel Gibbard in 2014, Open Bionics is a bionics company creating affordable assistive devices to enhance the human body. The technological achievements of the company are perhaps best demonstrated in their first product, the Hero Arm bionic hand. Named 2018 Hottest Startup Founders in Europe in the Europa Awards and even a Guinness world record holder, Open Bionics are developing truly life-changing and enhancing tech. They are currently part of a world-first clinical trial to make affordable bionic arms available for children in the UK.
Ada Health owns Ada, the popular symptom checker app which was co-founded in 2011 by Claire Norovol, a British Pediatrician. The app is hugely popular and its user base spans across Europe. With downloads in the millions, availability in four languages and even having received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it’s revolutionising the way people access medical advice. Ada reportedly completes a health assessment every 3 seconds. And in more recent times Ada has been responding to the COVID-19 crisis by installing an assessment and screening function available on the app.
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