NEW ORLEANS – Ochsner Health System and GE Healthcare announced the winner of the 2017 Healthy @ Home Innovation Challenge during New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) – Dr. John Veerman of Ontario, Canada.
The challenge sought to identify patient-centered technologies that can improve patient healthcare by discretely sensing, monitoring and analyzing activity in the home.
The Healthy @ Home Challenge launched in July 2016. Of the 23 applications submitted from across the nation, four finalists were selected last fall and were invited to participate in Phase 2 of the Challenge.
Dr. Veerman’s proposed system is intended to help clinicians and family members of elderly patients easily track their daily activities by utilizing a home’s existing wiring and plumbing networks and recording the usage of basic appliances and fixtures. The data, which would be stored in the cloud, could be used to monitor any irregularities in basic daily activities, including bathing, washing dishes and opening the dishwasher.
"I have experienced how difficult it is to determine whether an elderly family member can continue to live independently,” said Dr. Veerman. “This motivated me to devise a monitoring system that places absolutely no demands on the person being monitored and one which can easily be installed in virtually any home or living space."
Dr. Veerman previously received $2,500 as one of four initial cash prize winners during Phase 1. As the winner, he is now eligible for additional funding of up to $15,000 to collaborate with GE Healthcare and Ochsner toward further development and commercialization of his technology.
“As a national and global healthcare destination, Ochsner is leading the way in transforming care to be smarter, more accessible and more convenient, in order to help make our patients and our community healthy and strong,” said Aimee Quirk, CEO, innovationOchsner. “Our partnership with GE to crowdsource new thinking and ideas from around the world is just one more way Ochsner is delivering on its mission to bring the most innovative ideas to our patients. We applaud Dr. Veerman for bringing forward a solution that combines existing data sources and modern technology to create value and improve health.”
“We are excited to be back here for a second year, partnering with Ochsner to spur innovation,” said Aaron Hudy, chief marketing officer, US Region, GE Healthcare. “Dr. Veerman proves that patient-first technology wins. We are proud of his entrepreneurialism and dedication to making lives easier for patients and their families.”
The challenge is the final part of a three-year commitment by Ochsner and GE Healthcare as co-sponsors of an annual Healthcare Innovation Summit, which is part of NOEW. This commitment builds on Ochsner and GE’s long-standing collaboration to ignite brilliant moments in the future of healthcare, reps said.
