- A cure for Parkinson's Disease, a contact-free device for home diagnosis of sleep apnea and a device to improve sorting of cells in suspensions - the best European healthcare start-upswon cash prizes and recognition at the EIT Health Summit, held 4-5 December in Łódź (Poland). The Audience Award went to an antibiotic-free treatment of common vaginal infections. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/794875/EIT_Health.jpg ) The winners of the European Health Catapult Business Plan Competition - in the three categories of Biotech, Medtech and Digital Health - were chosen by a professional jury following pitches by 22 finalists. The top three winners in each category received cash awards of €20 000 each and, more importantly, the kind of recognition and contacts from the EIT Health community that can lead to further support and investment. The winner in the Biotech category, SyNoesis is a start-up with a patented new therapeutic treatment for Parkinson's Disease. Sleepiz makes a wireless device that measures vital signs without touching the patient, enabling non-contact home diagnosis of sleep apnea. Aenitis develops patented medical devices for continuous, contactless and pressurless sorting of cells in suspension. "Digital technology and personalised medicine will move the patient very much into the centre of the healthcare system, and that's something that we are trying to facilitate in EIT Health," said Jan-Philipp Beck, CEO of EIT Health, in assessing the winners. Read about all winners. The EIT Health Summit is an annual meeting of experts in the field of innovation in medicine and healthcare. This year's Summit was hosted by Medical University of Łódź and EIT Health InnoStars. There were more than 400 participants - representatives of EIT Health partners, spanning key areas of healthcare, such as pharma, medtech, payers, research institutions and universities. They discussed healthcare innovations with key policy makers from the European Commission, national and city governments, global organisations, and entrepreneurs and start-ups. EIT Health is an organisation supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT, a European Union body) and one of the biggest initiatives in the area of health in the world. It is a network of best-in-class health innovators who collaborate across borders to deliver new solutions that can enable European citizens to love longer, healthier lives. http://www.summit.eithealth.eu http://www.eithealth.eu