In this pre-holiday period, I would like to draw your attention to a health tech solution aimed at ensuring the safety of the whole family, from the elderly through children to pets.

Compared to many initiatives that emerge in the cycle concerning medical projects, Locon has over 25 years of experience in telemedicine and creating localization devices. Thanks to the IT and technological background, the company has developed an application and a locating device with the highest quality factors. As a result, the LOCON Safe Family service is used by over 1 million users throughout Poland.

Support for the Elderly

Particularly in the context of the elderly who live alone, far from relatives, it is crucial to provide them with accessible technology that will call for immediate help in case of an accident. Locon’s telecare service includes a measuring device, an application, and the care of the Rescue and Monitoring Center. The person is protected by wearing a bracelet on the wrist. This inconspicuous device has a built-in phone with access to unlimited minutes, a fall sensor, and an SOS button for calling for help. Thanks to the built-in, precise GPS module, it enables 24/7 localization. A monitoring system operating in the background (measuring blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation) will immediately notify the Medical Rescue Center in case of a threat to life or health. The device can also detect a fall, such as due to a heart attack or fainting, and sends the GPS location to the emergency contact specified during the programming stage. In this way, a family member or a nearby neighbor, for example, is immediately notified, and optionally, the Medical Rescue Center can be called.

The on-duty rescuer, after receiving signals from the bracelet and trying to contact the wearer, can decide to send an ambulance immediately to provide assistance. The devices offered by Locon allow for an unlimited number of phone calls through the wristband. Thus, the family and the rescue center can always be in contact with the person in need.

Health Monitoring

The usual recipients of Locon’s services are seniors who struggle with cardiovascular, pulmonary diseases, or ailments of old age. That is why Locon’s activities focus on helping people with cardiovascular problems (such as hypertension, arrhythmia, heart muscle failure), threatening premature death, which can be avoided with quick medical intervention. However, they are not the only household members who can be cared for. The bracelets can also be used by children, providing contact with the youngest family member without the need for the child to have a smartphone, for example, at school. Thanks to the location feature, the family can see the child’s whereabouts in real-time on their phone. Precise localization is possible thanks to sources such as GPS, GSM, Wi-Fi, and BTS. The location history allows checking where the child has been over time. The children’s watch enables quick making and receiving calls, only from the closest people, and also allows for high-quality video calls. The device allows setting safety zones (home, school) and sends notifications when the child leaves or returns to a given place. Locators can also help ensure the safety of household pets.

The topic of new technologies will surely be discussed at many holiday tables. Therefore, it is worth considering the benefits and advantages that they bring and what we can gain by using them responsibly.

Health Tech Startup of the Week is a series of publications on the blog and my LinkedIn profile, where every Wednesday, I present one of the more interesting startups or medical projects. Polish and international companies whose activities genuinely affect the quality of life of the users for whom they were created are invited to present themselves to a wider audience.

Are you running an interesting project at the intersection of new technologies and medicine or want to recommend a solution you know or use? Get in touch with us: [email protected] 

When selecting noteworthy medical projects, I couldn’t overlook CliniNote. Created in 2020, this startup recently signed a contract with Novartis focusing on using AI to analyze clinical data in oncological hospitals.

What solutions does CliniNote offer?

CliniNote was founded by experienced HealthTech professionals: Professor Jan Poleszczuk, Rafał Szmuca, and Robert Ługowski, who decided to combine their expertise. Their joint project is already changing the approach to medical data development and could significantly impact the quality of treatment offered to patients in the future.

The solution CliniNote offers to hospitals and medical facilities involves using artificial intelligence software to create real-time medical notes and analyze them while the entry is being made. Previously, verifying the entered data was only possible post-factum. Additionally, medical staff had to input the same information multiple times into different systems, such as CRF dedicated systems for clinical trials or real-world evidence studies. The application of artificial intelligence and natural language processing (NLP) aims to expedite this process, primarily supporting doctors and patients. Patients, in particular, benefit from the structured medical notes offered by CliniNote, making it easier to use their own data contained within the notes, for example, in case of needing a second opinion (consultation) or qualifying for a clinical trial.

What problems does CliniNote software solve?

CliniNote’s advantage lies in not requiring drastic and costly changes associated with an immediate reorganization of the entire data management system. As Robert Ługowski, CEO of CliniNote, puts it, doctors’ time is especially precious, particularly in the case of oncology patients, where efficient data processing can enable faster life-saving actions. CliniNote’s mission is to solve the long-standing dilemma associated with the need to accumulate increasingly larger amounts of data, which over the years has increased the time medical staff spend on paperwork, thereby limiting their time with patients. The startup’s founders also hope that their activity will contribute to solving the growing problem of interoperability, the connection of data from different specialized systems currently present in the healthcare industry.

How will CliniNote’s business develop in the future?

CliniNote’s goal for 2024 is to introduce the solution in major European markets such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy, as well as a Proof of Concept in the United States. They recently concluded their first round of funding, with one of the investors being the Berlin-based fund Sunfish Partners. They also signed an agreement with Novartis to implement the CliniNote solution at the Provincial Multispecialty Center for Oncology and Traumatology named after M. Kopernik in Łódź, where the solution is used for processing medical data and improving the standards of breast cancer patients according to the requirements of the National Oncology Strategy. In the future, the collaboration between the Oncology Center, Novartis, and CliniNote is expected to expand to other centers within the National Oncology Network. The solution is also utilized by the National Institute of Oncology and several hospitals in Poland. CliniNote is also involved in two pan-European projects, engaging over 20 hospitals from countries such as Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Norway, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

This Polish solution is also being recognized internationally. At the end of September this year, the Sifted portal highlighted CliniNote among European startups worth observing in the context of combating oncological diseases. The startup is also being observed by global pharmaceutical companies