Nepean Hospital

Sydney-based SimConverse has collected A$1.5 million (around $987,000) in a seed funding round led by Folklore Ventures, with participation from Artesian. WHAT IT DOES Founded in 2020, SimConverse is a simulation platform that uses generative AI to play the role of any patient, colleague or casualty for healthcare communications training. It is made to be adaptable and customisable to suit the curriculum needs of learners. WHAT IT'S FOR According to a media release, the seed funding will be used to attract more users across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Among its early adopters include Queensland Health in Australia and the NHS Lothian in the UK. It has also partnered with global universities, such as the University of Canberra, Liverpool University and King’s College London. WHY IT MATTERS SimConverse focuses on enhancing the verbal communication skills of learners at every level. It claims that ineffective communication among healthcare professionals contributes to medical errors and patient harm "with around 70% of medical errors attributed to communication breakdowns." "Communication is the number one determinant of the quality of care a patient will receive. Without good communication you cannot treat, you cannot diagnose, and you cannot provide care," said CEO and co-founder Aiden Roberts. MARKET SNAPSHOT The use of virtual reality technology is the latest trend in medical education and training in Australia and elsewhere. Vantari VR, a major player in this space, has been helping fast-track the training of nurses and doctors across big hospitals in Australia, such as Fiona Stanley Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Westmead Hospital and Nepean Hospital. It has also supported medical institutions outside metropolitan areas like the Latrobe Regional Hospital. Even the Department of Defence is also using VR to enhance the training of their combat medics. The VR-based Virtual Tactical Combat programme by first responder training company Real Response was recently launched with support from the Defence Innovation Hub. ON THE RECORD According to Alister Coleman, a partner at Folklore, one of SimConverse's investors, existing healthcare education simulation tools "lack effective training and breadth." He said that they decided to invest in SimConverse as the platform equips medical professionals with skills to "engage in meaningful conversations" with their patients, and in turn, develop a "more holistic understanding of their well-being, reduce the risk of errors, and ultimately deliver better care."

Digital dermatology startup Clinikally from India has raised $500,000 in pre-seed funding from Y Combinator, a US-based tech startup accelerator, and Shutterstock CEO and founder Jon Oringer. It also secured the amount from other investors, including ReNew Power founder Sumant Sinha, MapMyGenome founder Anu Acharya, Nepean Capital founder Gautam Trivedi, and Northwestern Medicine chief of head and neck surgery Sandeep Samant. Launched last year, Clinikally runs a web-based teledermatology platform for people of all ages, including children. With about 125 partner brands providing prescription-grade hair and skin products, the digital health company is serving around 700 cities in India to date. The startup is currently building an AI model for providing automated treatment plans using a database of skin and hair profiles and prescriptions. WHAT IT'S FOR Arjun Soin, founder of Clinikally, said they will use the fresh funds to double down on building seamless telemedicine flows; expand its digital pharmacy service to cater to a wider range of conditions; and strengthen their in-house R&D and technology for AI-based treatment plans. Recently, the startup partnered with US-based skincare brand Soteri Skin to market its products for the treatment of chronic skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis in India. It also just launched a virtual paediatric dermatology service and pharmacy offering on its platform. MARKET SNAPSHOT In August, fellow derma startup Diri Care from Indonesia also raised seed funding worth $4.3 million which will be used for its expansion activities. Another AI-driven dermatology company, CureSkin, scored $5 million in Series A funding in March, which will go towards reaching out to more consumers in India.

Nepean Hospital, a teaching hospital based in New South Wales, has teamed up with Vantari VR to integrate virtual reality training into its curriculum. WHAT IT'S ABOUT This partnership will launch and deploy a new virtual training platform over a three-year period. In a press statement, the VR startup said the platform will be integrated into the training curriculum of the hospital's ICU department with a specific focus on central venous catheter insertion. The partners will also develop a procedural training module to "facilitate a component of airway management in critically ill patients". WHY IT MATTERS As Nepean Hospital is managing a heavy case load of COVID-19 patients, the new training platform will help in raising the proficiency of its ICU clinicians and trainees, especially in airway management. This skill has proven to be essential during the pandemic when ICU patients with COVID-19 require intubation. Moreover, Dr Rebecca Rowley, VR lead at Nepean Hospital, hopes that the new platform will also help ease the educational load on already busy clinicians. "By integrating Vantari VR into our education programme, trainees will already have advanced knowledge of the procedure before requiring clinician input. In addition, we hope Vantari VR will help our trainees have a more homogenous approach, as well as give repeated exposure to lesser performed procedures," she said. THE LARGER CONTEXT Aside from Nepean Hospital, Vantari's technology is also being used for training critical care practitioners at three other tertiary hospitals across Australia, including Fiona Stanley Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Westmead Hospital. Featuring flight-simulator technology, the Vantari VR training platform provides medical training through a VR headset and a laptop. Its modules cover most medical procedures and deliver steps recommended by college guidelines. Vantari sees its technology being applied beyond the ICU to other critical care specialities, such as emergency medicine and anaesthetics. The startup said it is in the process of securing A$2 million ($1.5 million) in funding as part of its capital raise, which will close in December. This comes as it received a $100,000 grant from American video game company Epic Games early this year. ON THE RECORD "We’re thrilled to be working with a young, innovative department who have a strong interest in technology and simulation training. We’re also excited to work closely with Associate Professor Sam Orde and ICU Clinical Fellow Lead for VR Dr Rebecca Rowley to establish new modules and validate them through research," said Vantari VR co-founder and co-CEO Nishanth Krishnananthan. "I think back to the first time I was performing procedures on patients, and how useful it would have been to have prior VR exposure. While it does not replace hands-on supervised practice, it is an amazing adjunct that will hopefully accelerate learning and has the potential to improve safety," Dr Rowley said. "I’m very much looking forward to developing our own module and [I] can’t wait to see it in action. The technology has already evolved in the brief time we have been in partnership," she added.