The programme is aimed at health care professionals, entrepreneurs, researchers, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who want to create consumer and patient-facing apps that make a difference for people’s health.
Organised by Health Innovation East and powered by Cogniss, the Digital Health Hub programme began supporting its first two cohorts in 2024, with up to 20 innovators receiving a six-month package of funded app development, testing and validation. The team running this programme was highly commended at the HTN Now Awards 2025 in the category of Health Tech Team of the Year.
This third cohort follows a record number of applications to the programme, with 12 innovators selected.
Cogniss is a platform that makes it faster and easier for healthcare innovators and organisations to build, manage and scale their digital health solutions through its no-code approach. The platform contains 100+ pre-built features as building blocks to enable the creation and iteration of sophisticated patient-facing digital health apps, eliminating the need for developers or technical experts. Beyond development, Cogniss simplifies the compliance, interoperability and distribution of health apps. For health systems, this means a much more efficient procurement pathway for compliant patient-centric solutions.
Of the Digital Health Hub programme Joanna Dempsey, Commercial Enterprise Lead at Health Innovation East says:
“This is a great opportunity for innovators to bring their app ideas to life quickly and with expert support. Using the tools from Cogniss, they can rapidly develop and test solutions, while also ensuring digital compliance.”
Following the programme, apps can be published as standalone solutions, available on the web or relevant app stores, or they can remain secure within the Digital Hub while further funding is sought by the entrepreneur, Trust or Integrated Care Board.
Innovator: Stacey Picart – senior doctor in obstetrics and gynaecology, NHS clinical entrepreneur fellow, the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Target: First time parents, parents with anxiety or past traumatic birth experiences and parents from ethnic minority backgrounds.
An app offering comprehensive, trauma-informed antenatal education that prepares parents not only physically, but emotionally and psychologically for every kind of birth experience – especially unexpected, complex , or historically traumatic ones.
Innovator: Farnaaz Sharief – GP, NHS clinical entrepreneur
Target: Parents and caregivers of neurodivergent children
Self-paced solution designed to empower parents and caregivers of neurodivergent children, particularly those with suspected or diagnosed Autism and ADHD. The app delivers a programme which provides evidence-informed tools, resilience-building strategies, and emotional regulation techniques, alongside specialist insights from clinicians, to help parents navigate daily challenges, manage stress, and foster healthier family dynamics.
Innovator: Mary Tondo – speech and language therapist, NHS clinical entrepreneur
Target: Patients, careers and families, the whole multidisciplinary team, members of the public, healthcare professionals, GPs, speech and language therapists and speech and language therapy students.
The app will be a training and awareness-raising platform around the risks of dysphagia, featuring real-life scenarios in video formats. It can be an information-sharing tool amongst patients and their carers and families, leading to timely referrals and treatment.
Innovator: Benoit Jauniaux – medical doctor, core surgical trainee, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Target: UK-based clinicians in emergency surgical, anaesthetic, and A&E settings
A clinician-facing digital platform hosting short, multilingual animated videos explaining common emergency surgical diagnoses and procedures. Designed for use at the bedside, in clinics, or preoperatively, these videos will help clinicians communicate essential information consistently, clearly and inclusively, especially for patients with limited English proficiency or low health literacy.
Innovator: Oluremi Mogekwu – obstetrics and gynaecology, NHS clinical entrepreneur, NHS England
Target: Women in the first two years after childbirth
The app will be a healthcare model for the postnatal period and up to two years after delivery. It will be a health care programme underpinned by digital solutions and in-person acre. The app will commence with a self-assessment that reveals personalised guidance and action plans helping women recover postnatally and improve their lifelong health.
Innovator: Sanjoy Deb – associate professor in sport and exercise nutrition, Anglia Ruskin University
Target: Early years practitioners, parents and carers of children aged 1-5, local authorities and public health teams
App is designed to support early years settings and parents with practical, accessible nutrition guidance. The app builds directly on the findings of the Nourishing Our Future (NOF) project, which identified a lack of funding, training and resources to support and value food and nutrition as a core area of early years practice.
Innovator: Rachel Howard – resident doctor, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Target: Parents and carers of babies in NICU born around 36 weeks of gestation, NICU staff, researchers and quality improvement teams
An app for parents and carers in the NICU to record, track, and engage with their Kangaroo Care (KMC) sessions when looking after late preterm infants (~36 weeks).
Innovator: Zoe Tolkien – clinical researcher, NHS clinical entrepreneur, University of Cambridge
Targets: Adults seeking treatment for binge eating disorder and bulimia
A patient-facing app designed to support people with binge eating disorder (BED) and bulimia by removing key barriers to accessing and seeking treatment.
Innovator: Chris Grieco – radiology doctor, NHS clinical entrepreneur, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Target: patient undergoing interventional radiology and image guided surgery, and clinical professional working in radiology, oncology, surgery, paediatrics or procedural medicine
A dual purpose platform designed to enhance both patient and clinician experiences in interventional radiology. For patients, the app offers accessible video based digital consent pathways for image guided procedures, improving understanding and shared decision making. For clinicians including doctors, nurses, and radiographers, the platform delivers concise microlearning modules and issues micro credentials upon completion.
Innovator: Joe Scholfield – cognitive behavioural therapist, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Target: mental health therapists working virtually and lecturers
A web-based platform for mental health therapists to use alongside virtual therapy sessions. Its purpose is to provide a central hub of high-quality, digital Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) resources, including forms, diagrams, and therapeutic models.
Innovator: See Mun Wong – digital and quality improvement specialist, NHS clinical entrepreneur, specialist pharmacy service
Target: all pharmacy staff and other clinical specialties requiring hands-on training e.g. theatres, phototherapy clinics.
An app that will standardise best practice aseptic services, allowing staff to be trained cost-effectively within their own workplace. Unlike traditional methods, the app will provide video demonstrations of essential procedures, such as handwashing, gowning, and no-touch technique, enhancing learning of practical skills through engaging, hands-on visuals.
Innovator: Edit Galambos – lead cancer nurse, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust
Target: any patient entering the cancer care pathway who can benefit from structured preparation for treatment.
The app is more than a preparation tool. It provides a prehabilitation programme integrating pre, in and re-habilitation seamlessly into standard cancer care pathways. It tailors interventions to individual patient needs while ensuring broad accessibility.
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