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Healthcare Innovation Ecosystem

Our society is changing. The population is ageing, pressure on healthcare is increasing and at the same time entrepreneurs are developing promising innovations. Yet these often struggle to find their way into practice. This project addresses that, focused on the Utrecht region. We are building a sustainable ecosystem in which innovation, collaboration and validation are central. With the resident as the starting point.

About us

Innovating together for future-proof care

Good healthcare innovations often fail not because of a lack of ideas, but because the step from promise to practice is too large. Regulations, risk aversion and siloing mean that promising tools never reach the people who would benefit from them.

The Healthcare Innovation Ecosystem is changing that. As a collaborative partnership of public and private parties in the Utrecht region, the ecosystem works to create an environment in which healthcare innovations do find their way into practice — with the resident as the starting point.

CoVince is one of the partners within this ecosystem. As an innovation company, CoVince develops technology that contributes to better care, including Tomo — a smart digital assistant that gives care users more control over their own care conversations. More information: Click here

Goal

Goal

In the Utrecht region we are building a living network where healthcare organizations, educational institutions, residents and local businesses jointly test, share and scale new solutions. So that innovations don't remain stuck in pilots and presentations — but actually reach the people who need them.

Approach

We work along five lines: living labs in Utrecht neighborhoods where innovations are tested in practice, a regional lending system that makes assistive devices widely accessible, support for SMEs to deploy their products more quickly, a shared data infrastructure to leverage insights, and active citizen participation through neighborhood cooperatives and residents' platforms.
Approach
Pilot: Tomo x Oost voor Elkaar

Pilot: Tomo x Oost voor Elkaar

Together with Samen030 we organized a test session at Oost voor Elkaar in Utrecht, specially for seniors from the neighborhood. Residents were introduced to Tomo — our digital assistant that helps people prepare for, understand, and remember care conversations. During the session, participants simulated a care conversation, tested the app themselves, and shared their experiences. Valuable feedback directly from the target group, which we will incorporate into the further development of Tomo. More information: Click here

Pilot: Tomo x Utrecht University of Applied Sciences

Students from the Communication, Multimedia and Design program at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences examined the user experience of Tomo. Through interviews, user research and prototypes, they introduced improvements to the design and functionalities — always keeping the target audience as the starting point.
Pilot: Tomo x Utrecht University of Applied Sciences
Living lab: Tomo x Makerswinkel ROC/University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

Living lab: Tomo x Makerswinkel ROC/University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

At the Makerswinkel, students from ROC Midden Nederland and the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht engaged shoppers in conversations about healthcare innovations. They introduced visitors to Tomo and other innovations, and carried out on-site user tests. In this way we collected valuable insights from people we would otherwise have difficulty reaching — and the students simultaneously learned how innovations land in practice.

Pop Up Cafés in the neighborhood

In several Utrecht neighborhoods — including Zuilen, Ondiep & Pijlsweerd and Noordoost — the Healthcare Innovation Ecosystem organizes Pop Up Cafés. In familiar local spots, residents talk about living independently and healthily at home for longer, and are introduced to innovative technologies that can help with that. The setup is intentionally low-threshold: a personal setting where residents can discover at their own pace, ask questions and share their experiences. For participating companies, it provides a valuable opportunity to engage directly with the people for whom they develop their products.
Pop Up Cafés in the neighborhood
Pilot: Tomo x Care Roadshow

Pilot: Tomo x Care Roadshow

During roadshows we work with healthcare professionals and informal caregivers using Tomo. People who are closely involved in care every day know what is needed — and their experiences are indispensable. In a practical setting they test the app and discover how Tomo can be deployed in their everyday care practice. This way we ensure that Tomo truly aligns with the people who will be working with it.

Knowledge Event: Supervision & Technology in Transition

The Healthcare Innovation Ecosystem organized an exclusive inspiration session at the KNVB Campus in Zeist. Under the title Supervision & Technology in Transition, supervisors, healthcare professionals and innovators came together to explore how technology and ecosystem thinking shape the care of tomorrow. The program combined inspiring speakers — including Daphne van Dijk (KNVB) and Marlene de Koning (PwC) — with live demonstrations of four care innovations: the BalanceBelt, Holomoves, the CoVince Syner Suite and the dementia app TimeSteps. The session concluded with a joint lunch and time for networking. More information: Click here
Funding and European support

Funding and European support

The Healthcare Innovation Ecosystem is partly made possible by the Kansen voor West III programme, with co-financing from the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Partners

Healthcare Innovation Ecosystem
Healthcare Innovation Ecosystem
U-Vital Ltd., Interakt Contour Group Foundation, Dutch Association for Supervision in Care and Welfare, Cooperative Samen 30, Primio Ltd., INGE Holding Ltd., Trijn Association, Home Living Group, Manajo Holding Ltd., Elitic Balance Belt, Regional Education Centre Central Netherlands, Holomoves Ltd.

Team Members

Boudewijn Bauw

Boudewijn Bauw

Product Owner

Boudewijn Bauw

Product Owner

Melanie van Halteren

Melanie van Halteren

Quality Assurance

Melanie van Halteren

Quality Assurance

Richard van Tilborg

Richard van Tilborg

Project Lead

Richard van Tilborg

Project Lead

Rogier van den Bosch

Rogier van den Bosch

Graduate Researcher

Rogier van den Bosch

Graduate Researcher

Gianmarco Malandra

Gianmarco Malandra

Designer

Gianmarco Malandra

Designer