eCare: How startups are driving the digitization of healthcare

Everyone is talking about startups and digitization. eCare is yet another concept that is gaining momentum in healthcare settings. What opportunities does digitization offer? And where are its limits? Startup companies and representatives of the healthcare industry searched for answers to these and other questions at this year’s REHACARE. Find out which innovative products make life easier, learn why startup companies are driving innovation, and discover how healthcare can benefit from all this in times of skilled labor shortage on REHACARE.com.

In recent years, the leading international trade fair for rehabilitation and care has also seen a marked increase in young, innovative and dedicated business owners and entrepreneurs. And that's a good thing. "I think the difference between startups and established companies is that we can be more open-minded and are able to quickly respond thanks to faster decision-making processes. We are more adventurous and bolder because we don’t have quite as much to lose. Plus I think that startups are more innovative, because they typically consist of active young people, who tend to be more perceptive of future needs," says Thomas Link. And he knows a thing or two about this subject. After all, he is the Founder and Managing Director of Varomo UG. At this year’s REHACARE, the young company introduced CAREcules - a small mobile robotic table.

When another person administers or prompts patients to take medication, the affected persons are instantly reminded of the fact that they are no longer able to manage this activity on their own. Our devices are designed to where they don’t look like a medical device or auxiliary aid. By resembling a coffee machine, they are inconspicuous and blend into the kitchen background."

Ichó pursues a different approach: The small interactive ball works with visual and auditory stimulation and collects data. Admittedly, the tool has a different target audience. The team of Eleftherios Efthimiadis aims at helping people with dementia to communicate again. The little ball collects data from playful interactions and applications that can be controlled via an app. "This allows a better understanding of the disease as not much is known about its trajectory. We can garner valuable and interesting insights into the disease just by monitoring data pertaining to the reaction time of patients for example.” These insights in turn support the development of better treatments. 

This also allows users to address the individual needs of patients that arise despite the general and common symptoms and manifestations of a disease.

Despite different products and starting points, all three startup founders agree that innovative ideas need more support. "I would like to see a better understanding at the political level and less bureaucracy for startup companies," says Bunse. Efthimiadis had similar experiences with his team. The company actively communicates the lessons it has learned on its route to market and conveys them during state parliament visits. "We want to remove these barriers and hurdles for subsequent startups. That’s why we launched an initiative with other startups to increase awareness on these issues."

At REHACARE 2019, the entrepreneurs connected with visitors, experts, their target audience and other company founders. "You can find a fair cross-section of the community, but everyone also has an appreciation or a sense of health," says Link. Bunse is also pleased that AKVIGO was a participant at the trade fair in September. "A startup usually has to spend a lot of money to be an exhibitor at a trade fair, which new, small businesses are generally unable to afford. We are truly grateful for the opportunity and get a lot of feedback from a diverse audience."

Whether it is an idea, a prototype or a market-ready product – everyone has a place at the table at the leading international trade fair for rehabilitation and care. And it goes without saying that it also takes established, large or medium-sized enterprises to drive digitization. After all, they have more financial leeway and a broad range of experience pertaining to what their users want, what might actually work and what merely sounds good but isn’t likely to actually work. It is this mix of vision, innovation and experience that stimulates developments, whether it pertains to economic or social processes. At REHACARE, both sides can come together and join forces.