SYNCSENSE wins Danish AI award

With an intelligent AI-driven motion sensor and a VR platform, SYNCSENSE transforms exercise into an engaging and adaptive ‘exergaming’ experience. Last week, this innovative EIT Health-supported start-up won a Danish AI award.

‘Exergaming’ is a combination of exercise and gaming which can help manage diseases related to physical inactivity and aging. SYNCSENSE combines visual sensory stimulation and physical exercise with gamified elements. It gives bedridden patients a meaningful, active experience that has the potential to reduce anxiety, boredom, and low mood.

When SYNCSENSE Co-Founder & CEO, Simon Bruntse Andersen, witnessed the final stage of his grandparents’ lives in hospital, it had a lasting impact. He was inspired to find solutions to mitigate the damage institutionalisation can have on the frail and elderly.

In Denmark patients over the age of 65 account for more than 50% of hospital admissions. A significant portion of these patients lie in bed more than 22 hours per day during their hospitalisation.[1] Elderly patients spend on average of 70-90% of their in-hospital time in bed and only 3-5% standing or walking.[2] This weakens their bones, muscles, and cardiovascular system. The lack of something meaningful to participate in leads to boredom and loss of motivation.

With support from EIT Health’s accelerator, SYNCSENSE started co-creating a VR exercise prototype. They established Living Labs in hospitals, nursing homes and a rehab centre in Denmark. With an introduction from EIT Health they have also tested the solution in a Swedish nursing home which helped them develop a market-ready product. “Through EIT Health’s partnerships we were introduced to a Swedish nursing home where we got a living lab established in order to catalyse internationalisation,” says Simon Bruntse Andersen, Co-Founder & CEO, SYNCSENSE ApS.

The product was launched on the Danish market at the end of 2020. Hospitals, nursing homes, and rehab centres can now use the VR platform daily to make a positive impact. “VR exercise helps us actively reduce physical inactivity and immobilisation in a new and smart way. I believe the patients get a better experience while hospitalised and that VR exercise potentially could reduce the length of hospitalisations,” says Marlene Kongstad Blomstrøm Poulsen, Department Nurse at Gentofte Hospital.

Over the last two years, SYNCSENSE has been awarded both nationally and internationally. In 2020 they gained a Healthy Longevity Catalyst Award and in 2021 they were announced as one of four winners of a Healthy Longevity Acceleration Award. We now congratulate them on their recent Danish AI Award win and are excited to see what they achieve next, with our support.

Read more about SYNCSENSE’s story.