After much deliberation and debate, the shortlist for the first ever AXA PPP Health Tech & You Awards is revealed today.
This shortlist celebrates a snapshot of current and upcoming health tech innovations from individuals, designers, developers, entrepreneurs and healthcare professionals from the UK and around the world.
All 24 shortlisted entries will be showcased in a public exhibition at the Design Museum in London from 10th March – 26th April 2015, with the winners announced during the exhibition run. The showcase brings together the best submissions and presents them in an engaging and accessible way to give visitors an insight into this rapidly evolving and increasingly important field.
The awards, a joint initiative between AXA PPP healthcare, 2020health and the Design Museum, aims to recognise, celebrate and showcase the best in personal health technology innovations – putting the health technology revolution into a wider context for the benefit of consumers.
Divided into six Award categories, over 120 entries were submitted, demonstrating the many different aspects of health technology, innovation and design.
The successful shortlist of entries that will form part of the exhibition includes:
• A piece of wearable technology that is an injury detection suit for disabled athletes with loss of sensation: enabling them to see injuries as soon as they happen.
• An NHS approved dental app which plays two minutes of music taken at random from the user’s mobile / tablet music library, to encourage people, especially children, to brush for the recommended time.
• A mobile app endorsed by the Department of Health, aimed at young parents and parents-to-be providing personalised content approved by doctors and midwives that spans from pregnancy right through to the first six months after birth.
Representatives from the Health Tech & You partners evaluated every entry to select the shortlist of four per category. Six prestigious judging panels, consisting of 33 leading industry figures from healthcare, design, technology and the media decided each category winner as well as an overall winner to be announced during an awards ceremony on 18th March, 2015.
Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum, says: “The digital revolution is breaking down doors in the health industry. We’re about to witness a transformation of the global healthcare industry, led by an independent, consumer-led health tech market. This radical change is breaking on to a community of medical practitioners whose purpose is about to be dramatically enhanced – or challenged – by the growth of patient-led healthcare. But when a GP’s face appears by Skype on our mobile phone, can he or she still sit on the Mount Olympian pedestal of yesterday’s world?"
James Freeston, Marketing Director, AXA PPP healthcare, says: “We are delighted with the response to the AXA PPP Health Tech & You Awards. The sheer volume and quality of entries really is a true testament to the innovative projects currently being developed and launched by so many individuals and companies in the health tech space. On behalf of our partners, we would like to thank everyone who took the time to enter - your commitment to improving health through the use of technology is invaluable. We congratulate those who have been shortlisted on this great achievement – and we look forward to hearing who the winners are during the award ceremony in March.”
Julia Manning, Chief Executive of 2020health says: “This is the first year for these Awards and we didn’t know what to expect. We were taken aback and delighted by the quality and professionalism of the submissions – which made our job harder to choose the final shortlist from so many innovative and pioneering ideas.”