d·HEALTH Barcelona Part Time

The second edition of d·Health Barcelona Part Time kicked off in March. The program is a Biocat training activity that has fellows create and develop a technological solution based on unmet clinical needs they have identified. 

This year, there were six multidisciplinary teams, made up of three or four fellows with different backgrounds (business, design, clinical practice and engineering), who took on the knowledge needed to become healthcare innovators and entrepreneurs. Over the first weeks, the participants received training in the Stanford University biodesign methodology, an introduction to the hospital and clinical area where they would do their clinical immersion, and introductory sessions on the healthcare ecosystem in Catalonia. 

Some of the main changes in this edition included the length of the program, extended from six to eight months, addition of new benchmark hospitals in Catalonia and collaboration from Eurecat. The program received support from the Catalan Ministry of Health, EIT Health and Tech Barcelona. 

In terms of clinical areas, the participants worked in hospital at home (Germans Trias i Pujol), intensive care medicine (Bellvitge University Hospital), intermediate care (Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí), pediatric rehabilitation (Hospital Sant Joan de Déu), the cardiology hospitalization process (Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau) and digestive endoscopy (Josep Trueta University Hospital). With support from mentors, each team chose a clinical need and developed a business project, which they pitched at Graduation Day in December 2024 to industry professionals.

1. Tio Jordi^TM

   The group from the Intensive Medicine Unit at Bellvitge University Hospital designed this project to improve quality of life for people with difficulty swallowing by providing clinically safe, nutritious, varied meals.  This approach helps combat common complications like malnutrition and bronchoaspiration.

2. MEDIC-hf 

   The team from the Cardiology Unit at Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau developed this method for adjusting medicine doses for patients with heart failure using daily text messages and a dashboard for medical staff. The solution optimizes decision-making and reduces the need for frequent in person visits.

3. Safe & Sound 

   The team from the Home Hospitalization Service at Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital in Badalona devised a proposal to improve the emotional wellbeing of patients undergoing long term rehabilitation who may develop anxiety or depression. The goal is to promote holistic recovery and take some of the psychological support burden off healthcare professionals.

4. Calma Cura 

   The team from the Geriatric Unit at Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí developed this innovative pain relief dressing for patients with bedsores. It combines traditional compresses and a system of external tubes that can be used to administer analgesic drugs directly onto the wound, making the process more comfortable and less painful.

5. Playpal 

   The team from the Rehabilitation Service at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital proposed this gamified telerehabilitation platform for children. The tool improves adherence to treatment and encourages active participation from families and professionals, offering a practical, cost-effective solution for remote rehabilitation.

6. Absula 

   The team from the Digestive Endoscopy Department at Dr. Josep Trueta University Hospital of Girona came up with this bioabsorbable cannula for local treatment of post-ERCP pancreatitis. It is flexible and porous with anti-migration properties to improve therapeutic efficacy and anatomical adaptation.