Nine EIT Health InnoStars Success Stories from 2019: moderate innovators on the rise

This year, one-third of the EIT Health flagship stories approved by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) comes from InnoStars – Central, Eastern and Southern European regions, including EIT Regional Innovation Scheme, which are considered mostly as “moderate innovators”. Apparently, the regions are growing rapidly with hundred-proof innovation projects that can transform European healthcare ecosystems.

If you subscribe to an opinion that “moderate innovators”, meaning countries and regions which constitute EIT Health InnoStars[1], lack innovative ideas and are, well, “moderate innovators”, as most of them are officially designated, you might be challenged to change that opinion upon a closer look at the EIT Health Success Stories from 2019 approved by EIT.

“I think it is no longer a matter of opinion. InnoStars and EIT Health RIS have caught up and became a genuine pillar of innovation in healthcare, and this is an objective fact to be reckoned with. I am delighted about the EIT recognition of Success Stories and Innovations in Action. Obviously, there is still room for improvement, and a lot of challenges remain unsolved. Yet, the 2019 Success Stories EIT recognition is a testament to the tremendous work of our Partners, EIT Health Hubs as well as a range of innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs, academics, and healthcare professionals,” said Mikołaj Gurdała, EIT Health InnoStars Manager.

EIT proudly approved 9 Success Stories from InnoStars and EIT Health RIS countries for 2019. It stands for 33% of all accepted stories coming from EIT Health.

Italy, Poland and Portugal leading the pack

Italy, Poland and Portugal stand out among the InnoStars countries. They account for 5 success stories in total (Italy – 2, Poland – 1, Portugal – 2). Nevertheless, there is a healthy contribution from other countries as well, with recognized entries ranging from the Baltics and Czechia.

For details regarding each and every InnoStars and EIT Health RIS Success Story, please see the list (in alphabetical order) below.

• Allelica (Italy, Success Story) – focuses efforts to reduce coronary artery disease incidence using genomic and digital technologies to personalize prevention strategies;
• Brainscan (Poland, Success Story) – uses machine learning to improve the efficiency of brain CT scans interpretations by giving radiologists an AI-based decision support system to lessen misdiagnosis;
• Delox (Portugal, Success Story) – fights hospital-acquired infections and multi-drug resistant organisms by radically democratizing bio-decontamination through the delivery of affordable and compact systems to everyone, everywhere;
• DocuMental (Estonia, Success Story) – a unique decision support system, which improves the diagnostic and treatment reliability in mental health by implementing structured and standardized digital workflow, which responds more effectively to the need for better diagnosis, management and outcome than a traditional approach of current mental healthcare systems;
• iLof (Portugal, Success Story) – an inexpensive, non-invasive tool for stratifying patients for Alzheimer’s clinical trials;
• InoCURE (Czechia, Success Story) – has developed the next generation of 3D ECM models to improve the reproducibility and predictability of currently used models for pre-clinical testing of drugs. The aim is to end testing on animals;
• Kristaps Krafte/Vigo (Latvia, Success Story) – a graduate of EIT labelled programme MSc Innovation in Health Care at Copenhagen Business School and a co-founder of Vigo. The start-up is developing digital therapy for stroke recovery using evidence-based tools and artificial intelligence;
• Oxipit (Lithuania, Success Story) – has developed a suite of tools for chest X-rays, which cover 90% of all pathologies and generate reports as if written by a radiologist;
• Teiacare (Italy, Success Story) – provides innovative services and technologies to nursing homes. Their ambition is to improve the quality of residents’ assistance, support professional caregivers and make nursing homes advanced environments.

[1] According to this year’s results of the European Innovation Scoreboard, one of the InnoStars countries – Portugal has been recognised as Strong Innovator.