Finalists from the fifth annual AXA Health Tech & You Awards have been announced today across five categories. The shortlisted innovations address real and current health needs for individuals and their families: helping people with sleep issues, addressing mental health concerns in children and teenagers and keeping people active for longer. Alongside this, cutting-edge pioneers at the beginning of their journey and trail-blazing later stage health tech businesses are also recognised.
The categories are as follows:
With the need to identify fast-evolving health tech quickly, three challenge categories ran in turn throughout the year, they were:
- Sleep Tech Challenge – identifying tech to change behaviour and deliver better sleeping patterns in everyday life
- Mental Health in Children – discovering tech that can support children and/or their parents in understanding and managing mental health
- Mobility and Accessibility - working with Saga to find exciting and innovative tech that can help their customers to pursue their passions
Two additional categories ran for the whole year and focussed on innovation and excellence in the field of health tech:
- The Innovation Award - recognising entrepreneurs in early stage start-ups
- The Excellence Award - recognising entrepreneurs in later stage businesses
The AXA Health Tech & You Innovation and Excellence Awards have been recognising entrepreneurs in early stage start-ups or later stage businesses. These exciting categories have been shaped through the advice of the specially-formed AXA Health Tech & You Expert Group, comprising of leaders and experts from technology, health, charity, consumer advocacy, medical, design and media. The group created a set of Core Values that form and underpin each category of the AXA Health Tech & You Awards 2019.
The finalists are:
Innovation in Health Tech
- Chronomics – A home epigenetic testing kit
- GenieConnect – An intelligent personalised robot companion
- The Whistle – A device to provide information of potential health failure
Excellence in Health Tech
- DNAFit – Personalised nutrition and fitness insights from a saliva swab test
- Lechal – A smart insole to reduce fall risk and increase physical fitness
- Untire – An app to help cancer patients with fatigue
The AXA Health Tech & You Sleep Tech Challenge and Mental Health in Children Challenge are categories established as a direct result of AXA listening to its members and finding the technology to help solve and support their current and sometimes unmet health needs.
The finalists are:
Sleep Tech Challenge
- Circadia – A combination of sleep tracker, lamp and app to improve sleep
- LYS – A wearable button to help a user understand how light influences sleep
- Timeshifter® - An app to help travellers manage jet lag
Mental Health in Children Challenge
- Clear Fear – An app to help children and young people manage anxiety
- KIT, by Project Kitchen Table – A digital coach to help young people with social confidence
- Xploro – An app that introduces young people to hospital environments, reducing stress and anxiety
Working with Saga, The AXA Health Tech & You Mobility and Accessibility Challenge has been looking for exciting and innovative technologies to help people keep active and pursue their passions for longer.
The finalists are:
Mobility and Accessibility Challenge
- isoshealth – An innovative platform to help reach personal health goals
- Lechal – A smart insole to reduce fall risk and increase physical fitness
- Tomo – An app using an online community to keep users healthy
Richard Cooper, Head of Digital at AXA PPP healthcare, says: “For a fifth year, AXA Health Tech & You has been driving forward health innovation and discovering technologies that make the lives of consumers and their families better by helping with common health needs, such as sleep problems and concerns about mental health in children.
"We are also proud to reocgnise both early stage entrepreneurs and later stage innovators who are the talent and energy behind these technologies, through the Innovation and Excellence categories. We formed the AXA Health Tech & You Expert Group who have created a set of Core Values, embracing human-centredness, inclusivity, transparency and trustworthiness. The Expert Group have helped shape and steer these categories and we are excited to see the variety and quality of shortlisted entries coming through.
“As we look forward to announcing the winners at the AXA Health Tech & You Awards Ceremony next month, it is good to see an increase in finalists from all over Europe and the rest of the world, showing that health technology is growing on a global scale.”
The categories for this year’s AXA Health Tech & You Awards programme have had their own entry and judging approach. Each category has had its own bespoke judging panel including AXA Health Tech & You Expert Group members, representatives of AXA PPP healthcare medical team and category partners.
The winner of each category will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on 22nd May at The Merchant Taylors’ Hall in the City of London. Previous winners and finalists have benefited through increased awareness, industry partnerships (including with AXA PPP healthcare) and funding opportunities.
There will be a Media Networking Breakfast on the morning of Wednesday 22nd May from 09.00 - 11.00 at The Merchant Taylors’ Hall providing an opportunity to meet the finalists and view their shortlisted innovations. If you would like to attend, please email: nina@triohealth.co.uk
For further information on the categories and finalists please visit the AXA Health Tech & You website and/or refer to accompanying backgrounder and image sheet giving concise descriptions of each shortlisted entry.
Follow us on Twitter @healthtechyou #HealthTechAwards.