EIT Health announced that the Romanian startup .lumen (Dotlumen S.R.L.), which produces glasses for the visually impaired, is one of the 21 winners of the inaugural round of the Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards.
The awards are part of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition – a multiyear, multimillion-dollar international competition seeking breakthrough innovations to extend human health and function later in life.
Founded by the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the competition has been running for two years and calls on teams and individuals from diverse backgrounds including science, medicine, technology, finance, and social sciences to submit novel and innovative ideas. The Competition includes a three-tiered structure of awards: a first phase of Catalyst Awards, a second phase Accelerator Award, and a third Grand Prize phase.
EIT Health is administering and funding the Catalyst Awards, participating in the first phase of the Global Competition to assist in the immediate need for solutions to combat ageing around the world, which provides an opportunity for ventures to focus on physical, mental, and social well-being for people as they age.
21 start-ups have received a Catalyst Award from EIT Health as part of the competition, with each receiving up to €50,000 seed funding to advance their product or service.
The awarded Romanian startup, Lumen creates glasses to aid navigation of the blind, aiming to replicate and build on the benefits of guide dogs.
The list with the other winners is available here.