TeiaCare, an Italian startup working in the field of health technologies, has recently raised total funding of 1.1 million euros thanks to the support of the EIT Health Investor Network. The three major investors are VCs Nica Capital, Fresco Capital and Padda Health + healthcare angels.
“When TeiaCare was born, we had a specific goal: to improve care and restore dignity to residents of R.S.A. (health care facilities for long-term patients) through Ancelia, our first product. The enthusiasm for our technology, which has the power of humanizing assistance, is truly huge and I am proud of the results achieved, both in Italy and abroad,” says Guido Magrin, CEO and co-founder of TeiaCare, to Startupbusiness.
The startup was founded in January 2018 by three young innovators, together with Guido Magrin there are Luca Iozzia and Roberto Salamina. It aims to deliver technologies and innovative skills in the social welfare sector. The team were inspired by the personal experience of Guido’s grandfather, who was a long-term resident of an elderly care facility, and who developed severe complications during his time there.
Nowadays TeiaCare has a growing team of 11 people, who actively collaborate to restore dignity to residents, support health professionals and make the R.S.A. (nursing homes) also technologically advanced realities.
The growth in the population of older people in Europe is said to be linked to higher costs in healthcare, due to the risk of co-morbidities and the decline in mobility. However, if appropriate measures, such as better coordinated care, are implemented at the right time it is believed that ageing does not directly lead to significant increases in the cost of healthcare.
“In Europe, we have a rapidly ageing population – currently, 16% are over the age of 65, and this is expected to increase to 25% by 2030,” said Dr Kurt Höller, Director of Business Creation at EIT Health. “A large focus for EIT Health is to improve the quality of life for people as they age so that they can remain independent and disease-free for as long as possible. Supporting innovation that aims to improve the care of the elderly is extremely important as there has been an under-representation of new solutions in this field.”
Ancelia is currently available in Italy, and TeiaCare is in the process of launching the technology across many other European regions, including Spain, France and the UK. Developed with the input of healthcare professionals and caregivers, Ancelia is designed to make elder-care facilities a safer and more efficient environment for older patients by utilising technology to monitor and track their movements and condition(s). The solution uses an optical sensor, positioned on the ceiling above the bed and powered by proprietary computer vision and artificial intelligence algorithms to facilitate smart monitoring, alerting and reporting. The data collected are then used to anticipate and prevent injury and deterioration of health.
If you are interested in digital health, read our article about digital therapeutics.
