SME of the Week: Launchpad company Medwise.ai wins Innovate UK grant

DigitalHealth.London Launchpad company Medwise.ai announces it was selected from over 8,600 applications to receive UK Government funding to develop an AI-powered platform that answers COVID-19 questions for healthcare professionals.

The UK government recently announced that 800 innovative businesses and start-ups, including Medwise.ai, are set to benefit from a £40 million investment. The aim of the funding is to boost cutting-edge technological advances that have been created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medwise.ai uses natural language processing technology to help clinicians find answers faster. The artificial intelligence platform aggregates information from academic journal articles and national guidelines to provide healthcare professionals with the latest information in a fast and concise format. The platform has now been adapted to specifically answer COVID-19 questions and a beta version of the COVID-19 specific platform has launched for public testing. The service will be free to NHS workers.

Dr. Keith Tsui, CEO and co-founder of Medwise.ai said: “Although the number of new COVID-19 cases is falling in the UK, the knowledge we have about the virus and the disease keeps increasing and it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the latest developments. We need to equip healthcare workers with the latest evidence and guidance, so COVID-19 patients get the best care possible. We are very grateful to be funded by Innovate UK. We encourage as many healthcare professionals to use the platform as possible, so more data can be gathered, which will allow improvements to both the AI algorithm and the user interface.”

“The DigitalHealth.London Launchpad has supported us throughout early development of the beta product through 1-1 business strategy mentoring, a strategy communications workshop and an Intellectual Property clinic. This support enabled the pivot to COVID-19 content and the launch of the beta version of the platform.”

The free, not-for-profit service was borne out of the need for healthcare workers, particularly clinicians who are working outside of their speciality area to support during the pandemic, to be able to access the knowledge and information they need to treat COVID-19 patients quickly. It will be available to anyone working in the health sector including junior doctors, GPs, and hospital workers.

Medwise.ai is supported by Panacea Star, Accelerate Cambridge, Eastern AHSN, DigitalHealth.London, MedTech Foundation, and EIT Health.