COVID-19 | Startups&TheCity

“The impact of COVID-19 on Romanian Tech Startups” – the newly launched report by ROTSA gathers some interesting findings and draws the Romanian tech startup profile

Sebastian Florian — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 08:13:45 +0000

Romanian Tech Startup Association’s (ROTSA) fresh report on the COVID-19’s impact on Romanian tech startups reveals that the pandemic effects were very nonlinear depending on the industry and on the startup size, however over 70% of the startups confirmed that COVID-19 affected their business to some extent. The study also draws an up to date image of the Romanian tech startup profile and highlights some key findings.

“The impact of COVID-19 on Romanian Tech Startups” is the latest research conducted by ROTSA, dedicated to tech startups founded no earlier than 2015. The study wanted to identify the impact, needs and opportunities of tech startups related to COVID-19. Thus, the study aims to highlight how technology startups in Romania adjusted their business strategy and what decisions they took in managing their business.

The Romanian tech startup profile

The startup ecosystem in Romania started to grow in 2017, when the number of newly founded tech startups tripled compared to the previous year, with the most thriving local tech startup ecosystem being based in Bucharest, followed by Cluj, Timiș and Bihor. It was shown that the highest earners were in Automation (38.1%), Fintech (31.8%) and Marketing (12.1%).

Regarding the tech startup profile, the study revealed that usually the new businesses are locally incorporated, with under 4 years on the market and no more than 4 employees.The annual turnover is of €150K and the biggest employers in domaine such Fintech (35.2%), Automation (35.2%) and Marketing (14.2%).

Regarding the startup’s expansion, the responders of the survey identified France, Spain, Italy and Poland as the main represented markets in Europe, while indicating and pursuing opportunities in markets such as North America and South-East Asia.

The study also looked to find more about the business model used by tech startups. The result showed that a significant part of startups included are providing their services / products to other businesses (B2B, 43%). More than that, the study revealed 1 in 4 startups uses a mixt business model, addressing its services / products to both individual and organizational consumers, while also using subscriptions.

Given that the growth of a startup requires funds, in order to sustain the operations and expansion, for Romanian tech startups, self-financing is the main source of funding, while 36% of them have raised private funds. Due to the lack of information in this area, accessing funds is a main challenge for tech startups. The main need expressed is the access to funding. Be it public or private, the surveyed startups are looking for investments to fund their operations and expansion.

Startup life is very dynamic and requires a lot of stamina, flexibility, vision and capacity to adapt. The pandemic brought not only a lot of challenges and constraints, but also opportunities for medtech startups, fintech or tech startups using AI technologies, revealing also some good examples of reinventing and coming up with new products.

The study was meant not only to look into the past, but also to see a bit in the future, to cherish this growing startup community, the organisations coming together to support the startups and the people behind them.

“We want to help Romanian tech startups in the next period of time to connect on European level, which could be a huge opportunity for regional scaling of business ideas”, said Cristiana Bogățeanu, Executive Director Romanian Tech Startup Association (ROTSA), upon the launch of the report.

The full study can be downloaded from here.

Romanian Tech Startup Association

Romanian Tech Startup Association has risen from the need of bringing together and building a community around technology startups in Romania. Even though the name and public communication were created this year, the organization is assembled on a foundation started in 2010. Since then, the organization has joined as a partner or implemented a series of large-scale projects in the area of entrepreneurship development in Romania.

ROTSA’s vision is to develop and support the ecosystem of technology startups, aiming to become at the same time a connector for its main actors and a link with other already existing international ecosystems. Consequently, the organization has a catalytic role and aims to become the unitary voice of Romanian Technology Startups, built on programs of practical education, transparency, mutual trust, collaboration and knowledge sharing.

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Oradea, a city at the forefront of good practices and resilience in handling the COVID-19 crisis

Eva-Viorela Sfarlea — Tue, 26 May 2020 10:07:29 +0000

Photo: Oradea City Hall

The measures taken by the public authorities to manage the crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus confirm the efficiency of the Oradea public administration, as demonstrated over the years by the high absorption rate of European funds and the overall development of the city.

The ability to adapt and intervene quickly is all the more necessary in border counties, which are constantly exposed to transit. Among the most important measures to combat the pandemic caused by coronavirus were the provision of medical supplies for medical staff, the provision of remote thermometers and protective masks for companies, markets, and public institutions in Oradea. The purchase of three PCR testing devices raised the total capacity up to 660 tests / day. Following the collaboration with multinational private companies, sanitary equipment was purchased directly from China at advantageous prices and in a timely manner. They arrived in Oradea in mid-April and cover the needs of hospitals in Bihor for at least two months.

According to the latest report of the Romanian Strategic Communication Group, just a few hundred cases of coronavirus were registered in Bihor county.

All people were tested before being released from quarantine

Given the proximity to the border with Hungary (13 km), among the first measures taken was the escort of convoys of cars entering the country to the administrative limit of the county and the organization of strictly guarded quarantine centers outside the city. As a precaution, Bihor was the only county in the country to test all persons before leaving the quarantine, at the initiative of Prefect Dumitru Țiplea.

Photo: Oradea City Hall

“Since the beginning of the crisis in Bihor, a total of 11 quarantine centers have been established, by decisions of the County Committee for Emergency Situations. Bihor was the only county in the country where quarantined people were tested, leaving quarantine after having negative results.”, according to the Prefecture of the county.

As a result of the effective measures taken at administrative level, the number of quarantined persons has decreased considerably: out of the total of 11 centers, only 2 are active at the moment. Currently, there are 47 people in quarantine in these centers, from 1,201 in April 24.

Oradea’s hospitals, administered by the City Hall

A peculiarity at the city level is that the hospitals in Oradea are subordinated to the City Hall, which was a major advantage during this period. The two hospitals (Municipal and County Hospital) offer a total of approximately 900 beds and 75 places for intensive care. In order to limit the spread of the virus, the Municipal Hospital of Oradea was transformed into a hospital dedicated to COVID-19 cases, with a separate emergency unit.

Even if the hospitals are managed by the City Hall, it does not pay the operating expenses, such as utilities, but allocates money only for investments, facilities and rehabilitation. Thus, the accountability of the hospital administration is encouraged and emphasis is placed on their development.

Testing of all patients before hospitalization

In order to reduce the time needed to process the samples (initially sent to Cluj-Napoca) and increase the testing capacity, the municipality purchased a first Real Time PCR rapid test device in March 23rd from donations made by companies in the city. Two additional devices were purchased, with one of them being donated by the RCS-RDS telecommunication company. Thus, the testing capacity of the city increased to 500-660 / day.

Photo: Oradea City Hall

To protect doctors and patients, all patients coming in the emergency room as well as patients from the Infectious Diseases Department of the County Hospital (dedicated to cases of patients not infected with coronavirus) were tested as a preventive measure. The risk groups are also tested periodically, according to the manager of Oradea County Hospital and the coordinator of the hospitals in the county, Dr. Gheorghe Carp.

Group testing of medical staff and quarantined persons

To protect all medical staff, including those not working with COVID-19 cases, the hospital management implemented a “pool testing” method. This involves taking nasopharyngeal secretions from 32-64 people, isolating those in the group with potential infections and testing individuals if the result is positive. According to the manager of the Oradea County Hospital, the method is successfully applied in Israel and Germany.

This method was also applied for the groups in quarantine centers. Further consideration is given to extending testing so that vulnerable people such as elderly in nursing homes and those who work for them, can be tested.

“Regarding the mortality in Bihor County, it is less than 2% of the total number of those infected and hospitalized. This is also due to the professionalism of those who deal with these cases.”, states Dr. Gheorghe Carp in a statement from April 23.

Collaboration with multinational companies in the city for the import of materials from China

The problem of protective equipment has been solved at county level for at least 2 months, since mid-April. In the context of the crisis caused by the virus, the lack of materials (masks, coveralls, footwear protection, visors etc.) and extended delivery times were the main problems that the local administration of Oradea faced. Immediately after the decree of the state of emergency in Romania, the hospitals in Oradea carried out an analysis of their stocks of sanitary protection materials, potential suppliers, purchase prices and delivery terms.

The identified solution was to import protective equipment directly from China, with the support of multinational companies from Oradea that had production units or partners in China. They also helped to conduct a market study and to identify potential suppliers.

Mihai Jurca, responsible for the purchase of these sanitary materials and director of APTOR, stated: “Initially we conducted a market study in which we followed three very important factors: the cost of materials, their delivery time and payment term. This process is based on the expertise, contacts and know-how of some multinational companies from Oradea.”

Photo: Oradea City Hall

The products, worth over $3 million, have a European certificate of conformity and were inspected by a specialized company before ordering. The representatives of the municipality mentioned that during this period the transport costs would have been much higher, but they also benefited from the support of the carriers.

„All the companies mobilized in an admirable manner and supported the struggle of local public authorities with substantial sums to equip the Municipal Hospital with equipment, apparatus and consumables in the fight against COVID-19, providing an example of sustainable development and social responsibility. With their help, Oradea managed to react to combat not only the medical effects of the pandemic, but also the economic ones.”, shared Alina Silaghi, Director of the Oradea Local Development Agency (ADLO).

Due to the lock-down, infrastructure work could be done more easily in the city and many were finalized ahead of schedule. In the context of declining revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Oradea City Hall reduced its expenses by 9 million euros, both in terms of investments and operating expenses. However, “all the European projects that Oradea City Hall has won will be carried out with maximum speed, in such a way as to maintain the absorption of European money at the highest possible level.”, explained the mayor Ilie Bolojan.

Work continues at the underground passage on Magheru Street, one of the major projects in Oradea. Photo: Oradea instantanee

Measures to support the local economy

The City Hall gave a powerful message in terms of finding solutions to avoid a complete shutdown of economic activity. In order to support Oradea’s economy, the administration distributed thermometers with remote reading to companies, public institutions and all food markets. Also, the City Hall of Oradea plans to install these remote thermometers in supermarkets and in public transport vehicles, so that gradually, economic activity can be resumed, with minimal risks.

The devices were distributed to companies with over 50 employees (around 300), while companies with more than 25 employees can request a free device / company from ADLO. Those with fever can be tested, with a medical team being prepared to take samples at the request of companies.

In order to avoid outbreaks of infection, companies with more than 25 employees can request surgical type protection masks, at purchase price. Moreover, masks were made available to the citizens at a price of no more than € 0,3 / piece, through an suplier of masks from Bihor county.

The private sector in Oradea enjoys a good relationship with the local administration, due to several reasons. The main one being the lack of major corruption scandals in the public administration: „Since 2008, we have not had a major corruption scandal. The other aspect was the predictability that we saw from the Mayor’s office, they say what they mean and they mean what they say. Business people look at Oradea and feel that the mayor likes them and is available to help. He also holds a gathering of the top tax contributors once a year where he personally thanks them for their tax contributions. It really makes a lot of difference.”, thinks Sebastian Vaduva, local entrepreneur and director of a private management school in Oradea. In his view, the mere fact that the situation was well managed by the public administration brought a huge reassurance for the business community.

Scenarios for innovation in the business sector

Companies will be faced with the option of losing people, sending them in unemployment, or possibly setting up a new department for innovation and creating their own products. „In the short run, the companies in Oradea , especially in the automotive industry, are impacted negatively. But there will also be a minority of 10-20%, that will wake up and try to find solutions. It is going to be those small minorities that are going to make a difference.”, believes Sebastian Văduva.

One of the possible scenarios involves the migration from the outsourcing model into a product-based model, requiring innovation: „I foresee some of the traditional outsourcers that are going to attempt to be innovative. They also have money stashed up, and can afford to allocate a small team of people to develop a new software (especially in telemedicine)”.

In his view, the sectors that can lead the way out of the current crisis are IT, high-end manufacturing and agriculture, with diaspora returning to the city possibly setting up factories for processing and branding of agricultural products for Romanian consumption, neighboring county consumption, and beyond.

Robotics and AI – innovation and utility in times of crisis

According to George Haber, investor in Braintronix, a company specialized in the production of AI robots, this crisis is an opportunity to innovate, to create solutions that will change human society, moving forward. “Braintronix is in this category. These robots are becoming even more important in this pandemic, with automation needed in environments and situations where people could get sick, like sanitizing hospitals or shops”, explains Haber. Braintronix is based on a modular concept, on the “lego” principle, with a common base, so it can be easily transformed. A factory can use the same robot for different tasks during the day and sanitation in the evening.

In making the decision to open Braintronix in the Eurobusiness Oradea Industrial Park earlier this year, the team evaluated the offer and the lifestyle enabled by the city and its connection to transport infrastructure: “The city is beautiful, you have everything you need to do business and it is fantastically well located for a production line. You’ve got great road infrastructure, easy connection to Europe and to the rest of the country.”, shared George Haber.

The transparent and efficient communication with the public administration were, however, major factors in choosing this location: „What impressed me the most in Oradea was how direct, simple and transparent the communication is with the mayor and the public administration. It is a very important thing to do business. I told the CEO of the company: “Come to Oradea, to see what a business friendly city means.“, added George Haber.

Investor George Haber also appreciates that Oradea is an airy, relaxed and well designed city, with large public spaces and many parks – which in this period of pandemic proves to be even more important.

In terms of adapting to the current crisis, the key word is resilience. In Haber’s view, “resilience means to accept reality, understand it, adapt to it and continue to smile and move forward. At Braintronix, we think every day about what we need to change, we evaluate the possibilities so that we are prepared. The world after COVID-19 will seem similar to the world before, but it will not be the same. Every company that wants to be successful in the future has to fully adjust what it was doing before.”

Positioning as an alternative to China

According to Sebastian Vaduva, Oradea can position itself as an alternative to China and win by doing an evaluation proposition to Western multinational companies in terms of costs, safety, proximity. „We want to reveal that Oradea, specifically and Romania, in general can be a wonderful alternative to China. I think that Romania can position itself extremely well in terms of manufacturing (especially high-end manufacturing). Out of all the cities în Romania, I think Oradea is the best positioned: you’ve got a very good combination between space (good real estate prices, open spaces) and a very agile administration.”

Internal tourism – an opportunity for Oradea

Tourism is a strongly affected sector due to the social distancing measures in place, and there are no ready-made solutions regarding the way forward. While we may not travel to other countries as much we used to, internal tourism will probably be on the rise. It is worth noting that Oradea has just received the status of tourist resort of national interest, which will enable Oradea to attract more investments and European funds for tourism development.

Photo: Visit Oradea

The impact of the crisis on the ecosystem of startups in Oradea

Some startups in Oradea proved to be very well positioned in the current situation, such as Smartware, with the Flipsnack application, one of the most well-known international platforms for creating and publishing digital magazines and books, founded in 2011. The tool creates interactive PDFs and also allows the integration of videos and animations in these materials. These features are useful in digitizing educational materials. Following the closing of schools teachers were offered free access for a year. To receive access, teachers are encouraged to contact the company directly.

“The crisis has not had an impact on the financing of local startups”, states David Achim, Oradea Tech Hub’s Executive Director. Most of the startups in Oradea, except for TypingDNA, are developed on a bootstrapping model, their focus being almost completely on creating and improving their own products. That’s why they haven’t looked for rounds of funding in recent years, except for TypingDNA in particular, which struck an important investment deal at the end of 2019.

According to David, companies need to strike a balance between adapting and maintaining their position. „It’s pretty hard to decide between going forward, pivoting or stopping altogether, but I think that in this situation, pausing the project until things become more clear is the safer option. We have to come with a dose of humbleness, so to speak, and admit that we have never been here before. We are all exploring.”

Photo: Oradea Tech Hub

Launching of the incubator program “Make IT în Oradea”

There are positive developments ahead, with the launch of the “Make IT in Oradea” program, aiming to accelerate the development of product startups, together with the City Hall and other private local actors. The startup incubation program will have an annual budget of € 300,000, granted by the City Hall. The program will include idea jams, hackathons and bootcamps, after which the “award-winning” startups will be selected and they will enter the incubation stage of the program, for 6 months. Established companies pivoting to another product can also participate.

„We want to give some general directions of sectors and industries, but we will not limit ourselves to them. We will adapt according to the ideas and passions of the applicants. These are not yet finalized, but the targeted sectors will most likely include digital security, IoT, Smart City, automotive and in particular, smart cars.”, shared David Achim, Director of Oradea Tech Hub.

Due to the measures taken by the public administration and the good coordination with the private sector, the citizens benefited from a sense of stability and a strengthening of confidence in the efficient management of the municipality. They will also benefit in the gradual resumption of economic activities, which brings Oradea at the forefront of good practices and resilience in crisis situations.

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XVision scans patients suspected of being infected with COVID-19 in mobile laboratories in Bucharest and Timisoara

Sebastian Florian — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 09:57:17 +0000

Mobile laboratory for the detection of the new coronavirus. Photo: Institute of Pneumophysiology “Marius Nasta” in Bucharest

XVision, a medical platform that analyzes lung X-rays using artificial intelligence, started to be used for the identification of the patients with lung injuries, associated with COVID-19. The solution, offered pro-bono, became part of the mobile laboratories for the detection of coronavirus, located in the outdoor spaces of the Institute of Pneumophysiology “Marius Nasta” in Bucharest, respectively of the Emergency Reception Units of the Emergency Clinical County Hospital in Timisoara.

This new way of medical triage will reduce the risk of contamination of other patients already admitted, but also of the medical staff. In addition, this MedTech solution supports the medical team in managing the extremely high workload during this period.

Thus, through a partnership facilitated by the Institute of Pneumophysiology “Marius Nasta” in Bucharest, XVision is used to support the triage of patients showing signs of infection with the SARS-COV-2 virus. This hospital unit has two mobile laboratories equipped with X-ray devices for tuberculosis detection. One of the laboratories was sent to the Timișoara County Hospital to facilitate the patients triage process. These mobile units will be used until the end of the pandemic to prioritize patients who require lung X-rays.

The triage system is based on an evaluation score developed by XVision’s radiologists’ team, benchmarked with the scores and standards used globally, at the time being. Based on the algorithm, it describes the similarities between the radiological patterns in the patient’s X-ray and those found in COVID-19 cases.

“XVision is a system that can be replicated and adapted in other hospitals in Romania, too, being a real support for radiologists in managing the large volume of medical images and at the same time reducing the degree of infection of the medical staff. We are already discussing with a few hospitals that we could support during this period. We express our desire to help pro-bono as many as possible medical institutions that receive patients infected with this virus”, says Stefan Iarca, one of the co-founders of the XVision project.

As part of the triage, after the X-ray is done in the mobile lab, the XVision application provides a very quick result that is analyzed by the doctors, along with the initial X-ray. Based on it, a decision is made regarding the respective medical case. XVision detects signs of pneumonia, even in incipient form, and detects the degree of resemblance to the radiological pattern of pneumonia with that specific to COVID-19.

“For the County Clinical Emergency Hospital << Pius Brinzeu >> from Timișoara, the collaboration with the Marius Nasta Pneumophysiology Institute in Bucharest is a welcome and helpful one for both the medical staff and the patients who arrive in the Emergency Receiving Unit within the healthcare unit. The engineers from XVision, with whom the hospital has already implemented an artificial intelligence program in the Radiology Laboratory, have the opportunity to test this platform, which has proven to be useful for the imaging diagnoses investigated within the Radiology Section, as well as within the mobile caravan, which arrived with us at the end of last week.

Our goal is to minimize the risk of contamination for both patients and medical personnel who are in the front line in the battle with Covid-19, beyond all the truly rigorous procedures we have set up and the protective equipment for all the medical staff and for the patients.

The program developed by XVision experts facilitates the work of radiologists, by accurately detecting lung lesions specific to the new coronavirus. Images provided by this software are viewed and checked in real time so that the diagnostic errors are minimal” stated Asist. Univ. Dr. Raul Pătrașcu, Manager of the County Clinical Emergency Hospital “Pius Brinzeu” from Timișoara.

More details on how XVision platform can be used to evaluate X-rays of patients suspected of COVID-19 are available here.

The application developed by XVision, is the first of its kind in Romania. It was implemented initially in the Timișoara County Hospital where it helps doctors analyze up to 200 lung X-rays per day, meaning 20% more than in the past.

Currently, the application generates data related exclusively to the chest area using digital X-rays as basic information. Currently the team is working on developing new algorithms that will be able to analyze chest and cranial CTs.

XVision is a Romanian startup founded in 2018 by a multidisciplinary team from Timișoara, passionate about artificial intelligence, deep learning and optimization of medical processes.

XVision uses artificial intelligence algorithms for lung X-rays analysis, assisting physicians in the diagnostic process. With the help of XVision platform, medical imagery benefits from the technological advantage offered by artificial intelligence ensuring a more efficient medical act, centered on the quality of the patient-doctor relationship.

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Romanian startups are joining forces to fight the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic

Sebastian Florian — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 16:20:16 +0000

One of the Romanian startups joining the fight against COVID-19 is XVision, which uses AI algorithms to analyze lung X-rays and to speed up the diagnostic process.

Romanian startups are joining forces to provide solutions to the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, in a new initiative launched by Techcelerator acceleration program, called Tech Startups United. The initiative is gathering startups able to provide solutions to mitigate the effects of this crisis to the medical and financial systems and to companies and SMEs that need support in order to continue their economic activity during this period, as well as other institutions in search of digital solutions.

The list of enrolled startups will also be submitted to the authorities and can be publicly consulted by any organization seeking technology-based solutions to overcome this critical period. Startups wishing to join this initiative can register here.

“With this initiative we want to support, on one hand, the professionals in the front line in the fight against this pandemic, contributing with suggestions of tech solutions to make their work easier and of which will benefit implicitly those affected by it. Equally important is to support small businesses so that they do not get into the situation of downsizing their activity massively; therefore, we are looking for digital solutions that they can implement quickly to ensure the continuity of their operations. Startups have the great advantage of being able to quickly spinoff their solutions so they can be implemented by business segments related to those they initially targeted. The flexibility that they demonstrate, in this context, has to do with a sense of responsibility and of real value offered to the ecosystem whose active members they are,” said Cristian Dascălu, GapMinder VC partner and Techcelerator Co-Founder.

The first startup included in the list, which offered its services pro bono, is XVision. The Techcelerator alumnus, which uses AI algorithms to analyze lung X-rays, could speed up COVID-19 diagnostic process as it successfully assists radiologists. Among the pathologies identified by XVision are those directly related to pneumonia, a pathology that is also caused by coronavirus.

The list also includes other startups that have interacted with Techcelerator’s program and team in the past, such as Medicai, Ialoc, Frisbo, MediJobs, VoxiKids, Telios and CityHealth by Life is Hard.

Medicai is a medical imaging platform designed for chronic patients and their doctors. It offers online collaboration capabilities for multidisciplinary teams and implicitly offers clinicians the ability to transfer many of their activities into the digital environment. Processes such as triage, prioritizing patients, referrals to other clinics / specialties or monitoring can be done directly on the platform and more efficiently. During this period, it is even recommended that patients with chronic illnesses to not expose themselves to the contact with other people, if possible, as they are currently the most vulnerable category.

Ialoc, a reservations management solution, has launched a special Gift Card to support SMEs, such as restaurants and cafes, by encouraging regular customers to buy vouchers and use them after these venues are reopened. Thus, they ensure a certain continuity for small businesses which do not have digital goods and which depend on the physical presence of the customer in the respective restaurants or cafes.

Frisbo, an intelligent e-fulfillment platform, in collaboration with its e-commerce partners, launches a project to digitize the most affected areas of the Romanian economy, starting with physical stores, which will have to adapt quickly to online sales in order to ensure their survival given the reduction or ceasing of offline sales.

As for online specialized support, VoxiKids connects speech therapists and children through an application that offers special exercises to improve listening and pronunciation.

MediJobs, the largest online medical recruitment platform in Romania, has launched a hotline for faster enrollment of specialized staff.

Telios, a tele-medicine platform, offers online medical advice with the support of specialized doctors.

LIFE IS HARD company from Cluj-Napoca, specialized in software solutions development, offers free of charge the CityHealth application to local administrations throughout the country, which allows communication and remote interactions to solve problems that Romanian citizens may have during the COVID-19 pandemic. The application can help citizens be connected online with the local authorities and notify their issues without the need to go to the public offices or call.

Details about the listed startups are available here. The list will continue to be updated constantly.

Techcelerator is an acceleration program targeting Romanian technology startups. Headquartered in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, two important centers of Romanian innovation, Techcelerator is the first accelerator in Romania to allocate funds for the development of companies in the (pre)acceleration phase. Thanks to the strategic partnership with GapMinder Venture Partners, are targeted for acceleration and investments young innovative companies with high potential for international development and expansion in growing industries such as: software, cyber security, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, IT solutions for health, FinTech and others.

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Telios Care

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Telios Care brings to Romania more than 25 years of experience in telehealth services in the USA. The company offers… Read More

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Romanian startup XVision offers doctors its AI analysis system to help diagnose COVID-19 faster

Sebastian Florian — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 15:04:21 +0000

Chest X-ray of a patient infected with the new coronavirus, analyzed by XVision.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Timisoara-based startup XVision has announced it offers free access to its AI-based healthcare platform to any doctor who believes that this platform could ease his work in the coming period. The platform developed by XVision allows faster and easier analysis of chest radiographs with 20% more X-rays being interpreted daily, the application signaling those with pathologies and prioritizing them for visualization by radiologists.

XVision observed that a record number of chest radiographs were recorded in a partner hospital, the increasing workflow leading to the exhaustion of the doctors and to system overload. XVision uses artificial intelligence algorithms for the analysis of the pulmonary X-rays, among the radiological aspects identified being those directly correlated with pneumonia, a pathology that is also caused by COVID-19.

The doctors who would like to access the platform should contact XVision here for more details.

The startup was established two years ago, had an accelerated growth in 2019, reaching to expand nationally, the platform now being tested by hospitals in Timisoara, Oradea and Bucharest.

Last year XVision was selected in the Techcelerator acceleration program, through which they raised a total investment of € 100,000 from GapMinder Venture Partners. Techcelerator has recently launched an initiative intended to bring in one place Romanian startups that could ease the crisis situation generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Startups can register here.

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