Juniper Research’s Future Digital Awards 2023 has announced Healthy.io as the platinum winner for ‘Best Digital Diagnostics Solution’ in the Digital Health Innovation category for its Minuteful Kidney test.
Since 2008, says a Healthy.io press release, the Future Digital Awards have recognised companies that create innovative products or services that have the power to disrupt their ecosystems and offer important benefits to their target audience. Entries are evaluated by a Juniper Research analyst panel based on product innovation, features, and compliance, among other criteria.
“We are honoured to have been recognised as the Best Digital Diagnostics Solution,” said Paula LeClair, US general manager of Healthy.io. “Every year, millions of patients who are at risk of kidney disease fail to undergo the recommended annual testing until it is too late. Healthy.io is proud that the Minuteful Kidney test can serve as part of the solution to this problem.”
The Digital Health Innovation awards aim to recognise “the most innovative products and services in the wake of an unprecedented year of change for the healthcare industry, rewarding cutting-edge technology that pushes healthcare boundaries”, says the press release. Healthy.io’s Minuteful Kidney test, it adds, does just that.
The Minuteful Kidney test kit allows for early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD) by enabling patients to take a clinical-grade, albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) test in their own homes using a smartphone camera. The test kit is delivered directly to a patient’s front door and, at their own convenience, the Minuteful Kidney app walks them step-by-step through the test. Advanced colour vision and machine learning technology then read the image, translate it to a clinical-grade result, and inform the patient—and their doctor—about their kidney function.
The ACR test is a simple urine test that looks for albumin in urine, which can be a leading indicator for CKD. The Minuteful Kidney test is the first and only FDA-cleared, smartphone-powered, at-home kidney test. The test uses smartphones to “break down barriers to care, such as high costs and transportation”, which is “important considering CKD’s symptoms don’t surface until the late stages of the disease”.
