£2m funds innovative health apps

Five apps to encourage people to stay healthy have been developed by small companies, using a £2m government innovation fund.

The apps are designed to help people beat obesity and alcohol abuse and were funded by the Department of Health through the Small Business Research Initiative.

Haringey Advisory Group on Alcohol developed the Drink Coach app that people can use to track their drinking over an evening and get prompts reminding them to slow down.

The latest version, launched next spring, will allow users to log any alcohol-related injuries or arguments and share their goals of cutting down drinking via social media.

The advisory group also won funding for an app called Don’tbottleitup where people can take a test about their drinking.

The Walk has been developed by Six to Start and encourages players to walk 10,000 steps every day.

The app launches next month and in January will be included in a research project at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, examining how exercise can help treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Another winning idea is the StepJockey website and app, where people can rate and label parts of their physical environment for ‘calorie burn’.

Attention Retraining Technologies is also developing the Chimp Shop app, which uses psychological techniques to help players retrain their attention and behaviour to assist them in reducing their alcohol consumption.

Health minister Lord Howe said the government wants to encourage innovation.

“Small businesses drive innovation in this country and through competitions like this one, we can support and inspire businesses to grow and help address the healthcare challenges facing the NHS,” he said.

The government also plans to make a statement next month regarding how it will support small businesses. This will set out a range of measures to help budding entrepreneurs and existing businesses succeed.