The care for premature babies and vulnerable children in hospitals is very intensive. An extra pair of remote eyes and ears helps parents, nursing staff and doctors to provide optimal care. To this end, the company Neolook develops digital services, a strong camera system with extra sensors for movement, sound and light. This ‘Neolook One’ enables remote live consultation and transmits live streams after alarm signals to monitors and care telephone. This allows doctors and nursing staff to keep an eye on the vulnerable patients wherever they are. This technology also enables parents to be connected to their child, when they are not present beside the incubator or the bed. Neolook has successfully made an application at the Open Diagnostics Ecosystem (ODE) to further develop this system. In this learning project, that runs from March 1 up until June 30, 2023, Neolook collaborates with the UMCG and the northern companies Pezy Group and the Telecom Service Groep. Elke Veenman, project manager Life Science and Health at ODE, is delighted with the launch of this new learning project: “The focus of this project matches well with the goal of ODE, that is to turn the Northern Netherlands region into a global expert in the development of innovative diagnostics. The smart digital video cameras of Neolook will assist healthcare providers in the future as well to give medical diagnoses and provide optimal care, even if there are fewer healthcare professionals available.”
"The smart digital video cameras of Neolook will assist healthcare providers in the future as well to give medical diagnoses and provide optimal care, even if there are fewer healthcare professionals available.”
Technology as support
The video augmented services developed by the company Neolook is used in the neonatology intensive care for neonatology (prematures) and the pediatric intensive care unit (children aging from 3 months up until 18 years old). “The point is that this works for the people surrounding the vulnerable little patients: parents, nurses and doctors,” says Marco D’Agata, managing director of Neolook. “On the one hand it is technology that provides support in the daily work tasks in order to deliver the right care. But it mainly has to be a tool in the hands of the healthcare providers to use as they please, that is the trick. There were some camera systems available, but they turned out to be no match for the demands of health professionals. So it’s high time to develop a fit-for-purpose solution, that suits medical professionals for years to come.”
“The point is that this works for the people surrounding the vulnerable little patients: parents, nurses and doctors”
Collaboration
The first collaboration with the UMCG dates to 2019. Marco D’Agata: “We have found an excellent partner in the UMCG. After all, they are the ideal user, customer and expert in the scope of application.” In this learning project, Neolook is the party that comes up with the innovative solution, drafts it and brings the product to market for this specific niche. But Neolook has no high value expertise on hardware and design. Neolook has come into contact trough ODE with two northern companies that complement them in this respect. The company Pezy Group, an engineering firm and product developer from Groningen, develops the concept design of the Neolook One. The Telecom Service Groep from Leek is technical specialist in the field of the sensors, including installation and maintenance. D’Agata recognises the benefits of the ecosystem of ODE: “Via ODE we came into contact with the right local companies Pezy and the Telecom Services Groep, who bring relevant knowhow and expertise to the table. This speeds up the development of our service. Furthermore, we get the parties closely involved who can deliver together: from design and production to installation and maintenance.”
The start-up Neolook was established in 2020 as spin-out of Philips. The company is specialised in intensive care for vulnerable premature babies and children. With the aid of so-called video augmented services, the use of smart digital video with data, software, algorithms and artificial intelligence, Neolook develops practical applications for the care giving team of professionals, parents and family. The company helps hospitals who apply progressive healthcare concepts such as Family Centered Care, Family Integrated Care or Neurodevelopmental care. Neolook works on a national level together with hospitals, health insurers and the Dutch AI-coalition in order to improve the care for the smallest citizens. More info: www.neolooksolutions.com
The Open Diagnostics Ecosystem is an initiative of the LIFE Cooperative and aims to make the Northern Netherlands a global expert in the development of innovative diagnostics. The Open Diagnostics Ecosystem provides access to a network of companies, knowledge institutions, healthcare partners and development facilities that use their knowledge and skills to develop new techniques for making a medical diagnosis. Diagnostic techniques can demonstrate something and thus contribute to the identification of healthy tissue, but also early detection of disease. Anyone who has an innovative and ambitious idea for developing new diagnostics has come to the right place at Open Diagnostics. More info on www.opendiagnostics.nl
Source article: ode.nl
Photo header: work visit of Neolook to the UMCG on 29 March 2023. F.l.t.r.: Sandor Schrijner (Business Development Manager, Neolook), Daan Noordman (Industrial Designer, Pezy Group), Miguel Boekhold (Solution Architect, Neolook), Annet Feenstra (Head Nurse Neonatology, UMCG) and Henk ter Horst (Pediatrician-intensivist Neonatology, UMCG). Photographer: Geert Job Sevink.
