Novo Nordisk and HITLAB Announce Finalists, Teams Edging Closer to $75,000 in Prizes

NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Finalists of the eleventh annual 2017 HITLAB World Cup of Voice-Activated Technology in Diabetes presented by Novo Nordisk are one step closer to winning prizes totaling $75,000, funds that will assist their teams in bringing digital health concepts to fruition.

Beginning on Friday, August 25, digital health innovators and entrepreneurs alike were invited to submit their transformative ideas centered around impacting the lives of people with type 2 diabetes by improving healthcare access, delivery, and outcomes through technology. A panel of impartial experts assigned by Novo Nordisk and HITLAB (Health Innovation Technology Lab, Inc.) reviewed over one hundred applicants, selecting 5 finalists with voice-activated concepts ranging from a voice-activated blockchain eco-system for diabetic patients and caregivers to a virtual, personal dietitian that predicts blood glucose based on meal composition and lifestyle data to provide personal metabolic control. Finalists were judged on the following criteria: impact, innovation, sustainability, and feasibility. This year, our judges represent some of the biggest names in digital health including Google and Novo Nordisk.

Finalist teams Lighthouse Voice, T2D2, Palette, My Diabetes Coach, and Proof Work are one step closer to the grand prize of $50,000.

"The finalist pool represents the most innovative thinking in digital health, specifically as it relates to voice-activated technology," said Margaret Griffin, HITLAB Deputy Director of Ideation. "The concepts presented will unequivocally impact the lives of people living with type 2 diabetes, and their disease management."

"Novo Nordisk is excited about the voice-activated technologies that have been submitted as part of the 2017 HITLAB World Cup of Voice-Activated Technology in Diabetes contest," said Amy West, Senior Director, Patient Centric Marketing & Digital Health, Novo Nordisk. "The five finalists represent ideas that could truly shape the experience of living with diabetes, and we look forward to the final pitches taking place at the Innovators Summit: New York."

Each finalist will make pitches on day two of the HITLAB Innovators Summit held in New York City on November 28-30. Winners will be announced on the second day.

About HITLAB

HITLAB is an innovation and teaching lab dedicated to improving the quality and accessibility of healthcare worldwide. We help leading organizations ideate, create, and evaluate technology-based solutions to pressing healthcare challenges.

Our team of public health professionals, statisticians, clinicians, engineers, economists, strategists, designers, and anthropologists is determined to address healthcare needs across the globe. We work with a wide variety of stakeholders in both the public and private sectors to design and disseminate studies, programs, and products that improve healthcare access and delivery.

Every year, the Lab hosts the HITLAB Innovators Summit, which brings together leaders in public health, medicine, technology, and design to discuss health issues and solutions in a two-day live event. The Summit offers a series of carefully curated talks, panels, and collaboration opportunities to engage the most creative minds in health and technology. It culminates in the HITLAB World Cup, an international challenge of unparalleled diversity where innovators present original solutions to pressing global healthcare challenges.

For more information, please visit www.hitlab.org or follow the company on Twitter @HITLabNYC.

About Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat other serious chronic conditions: hemophilia, growth disorders and obesity. With U.S. headquarters in Plainsboro, N.J., Novo Nordisk Inc. has nearly 5,000 employees in the United States. For more information, visit www.novonordisk.us or follow us on Twitter: @novonordiskus.

Contact:
Ken Gardner
HITLAB
media@hitlab.org

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SOURCE Healthcare Innovation and Technology Lab