Neotiv, a Germany-based digital health spinout from Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, today secured an undisclosed amount in seed funding from public-private partnership High-Tech Gründerfonds.
Neotiv is working on mobile apps that measure the psychological effects of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. The technology flags up the same issues as imaging and procedures based on cerebral spinal fluid taps – both prohibitively expensive for anything but specialised institutions.
The approach relies on memory tests specially designed for this purpose through international studies, with scores indicating whether specific regions of the brain are functioning properly.
Through repeat usage, the app can offer long-term monitoring of a patient’s condition, offer recommendations into lifestyle changes to the user and allow medical staff to intervene with preventative and therapeutic measures.
Additionally, drug developers can use the app to select ideal candidates for clinical studies.
The spinout is officially launching today with support of Flying Health Incubator, while the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s Exist Transfer of Research program will monitor and support research work.
The university’s Transfer and Start-Up Center and the state of Saxony-Anhalt are also providing support.
The technology is based on research by Emrah Düzel, head of Magdeburg’s Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, who co-founded Neotiv with his PhD candidate David Berron, Chris Rehse, founder of FabLab Incubator Magdeburg, and Julian Haupenthal.
The team collaborated closely with the Magdeburg site of the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases.
Düzel said: “With Neotiv, our aim is to provide a comprehensive support tool for treating memory and dementia-related disorders. We therefore expect to become the key to more individualised, non-pharmaceutical – but also pharmaceutical – treatments in the future.”