Healthtech innovator MediMusic wins global award for unlocking medicinal power of music

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A Hull business that has developed a way to prescribe music as medication to ease pain, anxiety and stress for people living with dementia has landed a global award.

MediMusic, which was founded by former music industry executive Gary Jones and is based out of Hessle, scooped start-up of the year at the Music + Tech Summit of European tech hub Wallifornia. The Finance Yorkshire-backed firm beat 140 other entrants at the event, impressing judges with its technology that uses music as a digital therapeutic, creating playlists that can reduce the heartrate of people living with dementia.

Its concept is being trialled in UK care homes and major music publisher Warner Music Group is helping to expand the trials into hospitals in the UK and US.

Using algorithms, MediMusic “digitally fingerprints” pieces of music, meaning they can be identified for healthcare uses. The playlists it then creates can be listened to on a streaming device -the MediBeat – or on other devices such as smartphones.

Mr Jones, who developed the MediMusic after trying to help the mother of a family friend who was living with dementia, said: “This win is fantastic news for our team and our global mission to use music as medication to ease pain, anxiety and stress. The transformative power of music to make us feel more relaxed and healthier is truly extraordinary. Our initial clinical trials have yielded highly promising results, signalling a ground breaking future in patient treatment.

“The potential to dispense music as a therapeutic intervention will revolutionise the care of people grappling with pain and anxiety from people in care homes to patients in hospital. We believe we will eventually see music prescribed on the NHS. Musical medicine would help the NHS save money on costly medications treating anxiety and stress.”

Wallifornia’s program and partnership manager Coralie Doyen added: “Congratulations to MediMusic on being the big winner of our Awards Ceremony. The judges were very impressed with this innovative UK start-up committed to using music to improve the health and well-being of patients. The potential impact of its technology around the world is huge, and that’s why they were worthy winners.

“At Wallifornia, we value startups that bridge different sectors, combining their strengths to create something remarkable. Bringing these diverse worlds together is at the heart of Wallifornia’s mission.”

Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber

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Healthtech innovator MediMusic wins global award for unlocking medicinal power of music

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