This post is also available in: Danish
With funding and specialised business development, BETA.HEALTH will be the lever that turns good clinical ideas into solutions that can create value in practice and benefit patients and the healthcare system.
“Our acceleratorAn accelerator is an intensive program that provides startups with mentorship, education, resources, and sometimes funding to accelerate their growth. More program differs from other similar programs by being anchored in the hospitals – we are close to the hospitals’ everyday life and have easier access to patients, clinicians and specialists. This close collaboration shortens the path to the users and customers who will end up buying the solution,” explains Mikkel Møl Dalsgaard, Innovation Project Lead at BETA.HEALTH.
Meet 4 of the participants from the program right here.
MidUrine Female
Morten Haaning Charles, GP and co-founder of Aarhus Medical
– What is MidUrine Female?
When testing for urinary tract infections, the sample should be collected from the mid-stream urine, but living in a nursing home makes it difficult to deliver a urine sample on command. Therefore, staff often collect the sample in a bag or by wringing a diaper – and the quality is often too poor to make a reliable diagnosis.
That’s why we’ve created a device that makes it easy to collect urine samples of the right quality.
– What difference will you make?
Our device saves time for healthcare professionals. Aarhus Municipality annually spends 600,000 hours collecting urine. We can shorten the process and ensure significant savings as Midruine Female is faster and easier to use than current methods.
At the same time, the device allows us to make the correct diagnosis and avoid prescribing antibiotics to patients who don’t need them.
– Where are you heading as a company?
We’re currently conducting clinical trials at the Department of Urinary Tract Surgery at AUH and nursing homes in Aarhus Municipality.
We will conduct these trials in the fall. If it goes well, the world will be open because we have a patent on this, and there is no similar device in the world. Then, we’ll need to raise money to commercialize the solution because the perspective is extensive and international.
DoseTracker – Ardos
Thomas Ravkilde, Medical Physicist, PhD, CEO Ardos
QA:
– What is DoseTracker?
DoseTracker is a ground-breaking software that monitors the radiation dose delivered during cancer treatment. Today, when tumours shift due to natural body movements like breathing or digestion, a larger area is irradiated than necessary to ensure the entire tumour is hit, increasing the risk of side effects. DoseTracker ensures accurate radiation delivery, even when the tumour moves.
– What difference will you make?
With DoseTracker, we enhance the precision of tumour targeting, making treatments more effective and reducing complications. This results in a gentler and more accurate therapy.
– Where are you heading as a company?
Our software is clinically demonstrated, but we need FDA and CE approval. To achieve this, we seek partners or investors who can help us clear these regulatory hurdles, enabling us to market the product and improve cancer treatment worldwide.
MultiBiopsy Needle
William Ludvigsen (co-founder) and Kristian Horsager (doctor and CEO of MultiBiopsy)
QA:
What is the MultiBiopsy Needle?
Our biopsy gun is expected to ensure better diagnosis of early stages of cancer with less risk of complications. Our focus area is lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
Today, to biopsy a tumour in the lung, a needle is inserted through the chest and navigated into the lung and to the tumour using a CT scanner. One sample is taken, but in many cases, that’s not enough, and you have to go through the complicated process again, which has a 25% risk of puncturing the lung each time.
Our method works the same way, but we can take three samples at a time.
– What difference will you make?
If we can ensure that you get the conclusive biopsy in the first shot while not putting the patient at greater risk, we will gain significant patient benefits, reduce costs and alleviate capacity challenges.
– Where are you heading as a company?
We have made significant progress on the product. We have expanded the team and established an office with a development lab. We expect to have a fully designed product within two years and have a regulatory journey from there.
So, right now, we are building relationships with both investors and the market. A crucial factor for us to ensure success.
MyLymphCare (Cacto Health)
Ida Grønborg, Co-Founder and CEO, PhD – Cacto Health
QA:
– What is MyLymphCare?
We’re creating a home monitor to help breast cancer patients make early detection of lymphedema. Lymphedema causes a slow accumulation of fluid in the arm, causing the arm to swell and make it immobile. If not detected early, the condition can become chronic.
With sensors in an arm sling and a software platform, we want to empower women to take part in preventing this chronic disease.
– What difference will you make?
Over 20% of breast cancer patients end up being diagnosed with lymphedema. We see this in Denmark, but also other European countries and the US. Our solution will reduce the number of chronic lymphedema patients by ensuring early detection and treatment at the right time.
This saves society money through reduced treatment costs while improving the patient group’s ability to work and quality of life.
– Where are you heading as a company?
We’re working towards marketing the solution in Denmark and Germany in 2027. It’s a medical device, so there are regulations and clinical studies first. Therefore, we will be expanding the team in the coming time and have more partnerships and collaborations with German and Danish hospitals.
At the same time, we are entering an investment round that we want to close by the end of 2024. We are looking for someone who wants to be an active part of the team, is interested in women’s health, and has experience with medical devices.