A bracelet that continuously monitors your body temperature and breathing pattern and thereby can detect symptoms of COVID-19 at an early stage. Rick Grobbee, Professor Clinical Epidemiology at UMC Utrecht, and his team received a €10 million subsidy from the European Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI). ttopstart has worked on the application which was spot on with our mission: driving innovation in healthcare.
Christopher Haggarty-Weir, consultant at ttopstart: “We at ttopstart were in a fortuitous position to develop a comprehensive IMI proposal in a mere 10-days thanks to the unique blend of expertise each consultant brought to the table; prior experience, stakeholder management, plus scientific and business expertise. Combining this with a most respected and impressive consortium ensured a particularly high chance for success.”
The bracelet that detects covid19 symptoms
A bracelet that continuously measures your temperature and breathing and thus detects any symptoms of COVID-19 at an early stage. For this Rick Grobbee, Professor Clinical Epidemiology at UMC Utrecht and his team, has received this subsidy of ten million euros from the European Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI).
It started about eight weeks ago when he and a group of researchers were brainstorming about what could help in a quick diagnosis of COVID-19. Then the idea arose to investigate to what extent an existing wearable could contribute to this. This wearable has been developed by Ava AG (Switzerland) for women to measure when they are ovulating, so that they know when they are fertile. This bracelet does this by very accurately measuring temperature, respiration and skin moisture. This is already a certified device, which is why they can get started with it so quickly.
The bracelet
What will be tested?
A higher temperature can indicate a starting fever before you realize it yourself. These are measurements that are also relevant to COVID-19. Coughing and tightness have a direct effect on breathing. Some combination of these factors may indicate COVID-19. This is exactly what the group of researchers are going to test.
Increasing infections
Testing can start as soon as the number of infections increases again. Chances are that it will be in the fall. The research group will ask people who are at a higher risk of COVID-19 to wear such a bracelet. All measurements are centrally monitored and optimized with machine learning techniques. If the measurement data indicate a COVID contamination, the wearer receives a signal and must be tested quickly. Afterwards, all participants will have an examination to see if there are antibodies in their blood. This allows them to see if they have been infected with the COVID-19 virus and thus compare whether it matches the wearable’s signals.
About IMI2
IMI2 is the largest public-private partnership (PPP) of Europe in the life sciences. Consortia are usually granted between €1 and €25 million. IMI2 projects deliver the highest-quality research, which is reflected by the citation impact that is nearly twice the EU average. By applying for an IMI2 grant, you are applying for a diverse international community with different types of key players in the life sciences.
About ttopstart
Our experienced life science consultants are well-positioned to ensure your company can successfully navigate the pandemic and emerge not only as a survivor, but as a thriving business. This can include risk mitigation via corporate finance services, strategic restructuring, and project management. Alternatively, you may require a new grant or investor plan, both of which ttopstart is well-placed to serve effectively.
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