Health systems worldwide are centred around a sparse and unevenly distributed resource – healthcare professionals. This works well for some of us who only need medical attention irregularly and are fortunate to live in an area with good healthcare access.

However, with a global shortage of 7.2 million healthcare professionals, many of us can’t get the care we need, when we need it, at a price we can afford (WHO, 2013). This stretches from the 1 million young children who die annually of a perfectly treatable disease (pneumonia), to the millions of elderly people who suffer avoidable hospitalisations and rapidly declining independence due to complex chronic conditions.

Feebris is a UK-based start-up, developing a powerful AI-engine to deliver precision diagnosis away from the hospital. The engine takes measurements from off-the-shelf point-of-care devices, like a digital stethoscope or a medical wearable, and scans them for a wide range of disease markers. It then combines these markers to identify the presence of a disease or a complication. The company is first targeting the huge burden of respiratory conditions, like pneumonia and asthma.

In the UK, Feebris is focusing on elderly communities for whom a delayed identification of a health complication often results in avoidable hospitalisations. The company has been establishing partnerships with leaders in elderly care, from retirement villages to carer & GP organisations, to ensure their AI-engine evolves to capture the complex needs of elderly people living in different settings and experiencing a wide range of health challenges. The technology can integrate with conventional telemonitoring systems that run stations of devices in pharmacies or care homes, as well as up-and-coming medical wearables that host a whole range of health sensors in a single small device that can be worn continuously.

Feebris was recently awarded funding and support from Social Tech Trust to scale the application of their trials with elderly people around the UK. The grant was awarded as part of the charity’s Tech to Unite Us programme, which aims to demonstrate the transformative potential of tech when it’s driven to promote equality. Feebris is one of nine inspiring ventures to receive grant funding and support to grow and maximise their social impact.

Social Tech Trust has over a decade of experience in supporting more than 750 initiatives, making over £30 million of investment in the flourishing social tech movement. Drawing on their experience, the Trust is now focused on tech enabling transformative change in the areas of Communities, Health and Wealth.