On my ‘tour of Flanders’, next up is Antwerp, where imec.istart hosted a session in the wonderful dunden in a topic close to my heart: #collaboration between #hospitals and #startups.
So, how can startups collaborate with UZA and AZ Klina?
UZA is open for business! Patrick De Boever expressed a call to action: whether you are looking for a research partnership, a pilot, or want to collaborate on data, data, or data 😜, you can reach out to UZA!
David Van Laere founder of Innocens , shared some lessons learned in his trajectory from an intensive neonatal care specialist to an entrepreneur. Innocens is a spinoff of UZA and Universiteit Antwerpen that develops AI models for (amongst others) early #sepsis detection in neonates 👶.
His main takeaways:
* The question you need to ask yourself is: who will be the first hospital or clinician to use my solution? Focus on the early adopters!
* Look for a way to save lives *and* save money
* Start with a clear unmet need
* Be close to your users
* Publish and meet with Key opninion leaders
* Follow the money
Hannah Snoeck shared with us how AZ Klina looks at innovation, entrepreneurship sustainability, and data management. The hospital uses an innovation checklist to evaluate a potential match with a startup:
* Does the solution link to the strategic goals of the hospital?
* Does the solution make sense?
* Is the solution demanded and supported by the hospital? In other words: does the hospital agree there is an actual problem?
* Is there a sustainable business model
🪅If your answer is ‘yes’ to all of these, contact AZ Klina!
Finally, Stijn De Saeger introduced us to ibis.ai, an Augmented AI medical coding solution that has a flagship implementation at AZ Klina.💡Interesting insight: it takes longer to find a second customer than to find a first customer! Thanks to AZ Klina’s openness, future customers can discuss with he medical coders how they are using the ibis.ai solution. Sounds like a best practice for other startups and hospitals!
🚀Perhaps the most interesting insight of the afternoon: get out of the building! Only if you leave your own comfort zone and start talking to hospitals will you have a real shot at sustainable business!
