Exeter start-up secures investment to commercialise health technology

Oliver received part of his funding after attending the SETsquared Accelerating Growth investment-pitching event, which featured twenty technology ventures seeking investments of between £250,000 – £5million.

Oliver explained: “Our first product, The Diagnosticap™ System, a point-of-care diagnostic tool, provides a digital solution to analysing urine, a test that is traditionally read manually. The Thalamus Health Product produces accurate and immediate results straight to the clinician’s computer.

He continued: “With 2.8 billion urine tests performed annually, the system has the potential to create massive efficiency savings for the healthcare service and eliminate subjectivity.”

An average GP practice tests over one thousand urine samples a month, with a basic dipstick test costing around 35p each. Oliver revealed: “The Diagnosticap™ System matches the price of the market leader whilst offering more definitive digital results and overcoming the negative hygiene factors associated with traditional testing. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

With a background in Human-Centred-Design, Oliver has spent the last five years working in the niche of medical technologies, an area in which he is fascinated.

Oliver added:  “I believe in the purest form of design and I’m driven by a desire for the perfect solution. My background as an Industrial Designer and not as a clinician is a distinct advantage in enabling me to look at problems from a user’s perspective, not simply from a clinical one.”

The Diagnosticap™ System will be manufactured through UK based production in the South West and has already received product endorsement from senior clinicians across GP practices, the NHS and private hospitals. The technology will be integrated into clinical use in 2017.

The Thalamus Health team are based at Exeter Science Park and have two other products in their portfolio aside from a range of new technologies under development.

Oliver said: “We have a number of interesting technologies being developed in our Exeter facility. My aim is for Thalamus Health to use design thinking as a tool to empower both patients and  clinicians. We will use our insights of human-behaviour and clinical practice to design solutions that challenge existing healthcare practices.”