WSA Where Are They Now? – FibriCheck: Bridging Innovation and Implementation in Healthcare
How did winning WSA support the development and progress of your solution? Did people within the WSA community add value to your journey?
Winning the World Summit Award (WSA) in the Health & Wellbeing category was an important recognition moment for FibriCheck. The award highlights digital solutions that use technology to create societal impact and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
FibriCheck was selected as a winner because of its mission to make heart rhythm monitoring more accessible by transforming smartphones and smartwatches into medically certified tools capable of detecting cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation.
Our journey started with a very personal motivation: preventing strokes by detecting heart rhythm disorders earlier on. We built a clinically validated digital health tool that allows people to measure their heart rhythm using devices they already own. Users can perform measurements by simply placing their finger on their smartphone camera for about 60 seconds. This allows them to receive immediate feedback about their heart rhythm.
Receiving the WSA award was therefore a meaningful validation of our work. It showed that digital health innovation coming from a relatively small company in Belgium could be recognized internationally as a solution with real societal impact.
In practice, the WSA award supported us in three ways.
First, it strengthened credibility.
Recognition from an international platform reinforced the legitimacy of our approach when speaking with healthcare stakeholders, policymakers, and partners. In digital health, credibility is critical because healthcare systems require strong evidence and trust before adopting new technologies.
Second, it contributed to international visibility.
The WSA network brings together innovators from many different countries and sectors who are all working to address societal challenges through digital technologies. Being part of that community helped position FibriCheck within a broader global conversation about digital innovation and health.
Third, it reinforced the social mission behind our technology.
Although FibriCheck operates in the healthcare market, our core mission has always been impact-driven: preventing strokes and improving cardiovascular outcomes by enabling early detection and monitoring of heart rhythm conditions. The WSA award recognized this societal value and helped communicate that purpose more clearly.
In terms of direct collaboration, the impact of the WSA community was more indirect than operational. The award created opportunities for conversations with other innovators working on digital solutions in areas such as education, sustainability, accessibility, and public health. These exchanges were valuable because they highlighted how technology can be used in different contexts to solve systemic problems.
Perhaps the most valuable takeaway from these interactions was the realization that many innovators face similar challenges regardless of the sector they’re active in: scaling impactful technology, navigating complex systems, and building trust with institutions.
While the WSA award was not a direct driver of commercial growth or funding, it served as a meaningful milestone that validated our mission and connected us to a broader global ecosystem of digital changemakers.
Share an impactful recent story from your journey with your solution
The most impactful stories in our journey are often not about the technology itself, but about the real-world impact of early detection and monitoring.
One example comes from the growing use of FibriCheck in remote monitoring pathways and screening programs. Traditionally, detecting atrial fibrillation requires specialized medical equipment such as ECG devices or Holter monitors. Because these tools have limited availability and require in-person appointments, many patients remain undiagnosed for long periods.
This delay can have serious consequences. Atrial fibrillation is one of the leading causes of stroke, yet many patients only discover the condition after experiencing a stroke..
FibriCheck was designed to address this problem by enabling accessible, scalable heart rhythm monitoring outside traditional clinical settings.
In practice, this means that patients can measure their heart rhythm whenever symptoms occur, rather than waiting days or weeks for a clinical appointment. The data can then be shared with healthcare professionals for further analysis and clinical decision-making.
This seemingly simple change has important implications.
In remote care programs and clinical pathways where FibriCheck has been implemented, healthcare providers have been able to monitor patients more efficiently and detect potential arrhythmias earlier. Digital monitoring can also significantly reduce the need for repeated in-person diagnostic tests while still maintaining clinical oversight.
For example, implementations of digital monitoring pathways have demonstrated significant reductions in diagnostic tests such as ECG examinations and Holter monitoring, while maintaining safe clinical outcomes and improving efficiency in healthcare delivery.
Beyond healthcare system efficiency, however, the true impact becomes visible at the individual level.
We regularly hear stories from patients who used the app because they experienced occasional symptoms that were difficult to capture during clinical visits. In several cases, measurements recorded at home helped physicians identify previously undiagnosed arrhythmias, enabling earlier treatment and reducing stroke risk.
For our team, these stories are the most meaningful indicator that our work matters. Technology is only valuable when it improves real lives, and seeing that happen is what continues to motivate us.
What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned or the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
One of the biggest lessons we have learned is that innovation in healthcare is fundamentally different from innovation in most other technology sectors.
Developing the technology itself is only one part of the journey. Integrating that technology into healthcare systems is often a much bigger challenge.
Digital health solutions must navigate a complex landscape that includes clinical validation, regulatory approval, reimbursement systems, and adoption by healthcare professionals. Each of these steps requires time, evidence, and trust.
For FibriCheck, this meant investing heavily in clinical research and regulatory processes to ensure that our technology meets the highest medical standards. Today, our solution is certified as a medical device and has been validated in numerous clinical studies.
However, obtaining certification is only the beginning. Healthcare innovation also requires building strong partnerships with physicians, hospitals, insurers, and health systems to integrate technology into real care pathways.
Another key lesson has been the importance of aligning incentives across stakeholders. Patients want accessible and easy-to-use tools. Healthcare professionals need reliable clinical data. Payers and health systems require solutions that improve outcomes while reducing costs.
Successful digital health innovation sits at the intersection of all these needs.
Over time, we learned that building a sustainable digital health solution requires patience, resilience, and long-term collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem.
Which issues are social entrepreneurs and digital changemakers currently facing in your country?
Belgium — like many European countries — has a strong innovation ecosystem, excellent universities, and highly skilled entrepreneurs. However, translating innovation into widespread adoption in sectors such as healthcare can be challenging.
For digital health innovators, one of the main barriers is the gap between innovation and implementation.
Many promising solutions exist, but integrating them into healthcare systems often requires navigating complex regulatory frameworks, reimbursement structures, and procurement processes.
This challenge is not unique to Belgium. Across Europe, digital health entrepreneurs frequently face long timelines before solutions become widely adopted within healthcare systems.
Key challenges include:
- Reimbursement models that were designed before digital health existed
- Fragmented healthcare systems with multiple decision-makers
- The need for strong clinical evidence before implementation
These factors can slow down innovation even when the technology itself is mature and validated.
To address this challenge, stronger collaboration between policymakers, healthcare providers, and innovators is needed. Clearer reimbursement pathways, innovation-friendly procurement processes, and structured pilot programs could significantly accelerate the adoption of digital health solutions.
Ultimately, improving the translation of innovation into practice will allow digital changemakers to deliver greater societal impact.
How could the WSA community support your solution?
The WSA community plays a valuable role in connecting innovators who are working on digital solutions with social impact.
For FibriCheck, the most valuable forms of support from such a community would include:
- Facilitating international connections
Healthcare systems differ widely between countries. Connecting innovators with policymakers, healthcare providers, and digital health ecosystems across regions can help solutions scale more effectively. - Encouraging knowledge exchange
Sharing experiences between innovators can accelerate learning about regulatory challenges, implementation strategies, and impact measurement. - Advocating for digital innovation with societal impact
Platforms like WSA help highlight how technology can address global challenges such as healthcare accessibility, sustainability, and education.
As healthcare systems worldwide face increasing pressure due to aging populations and rising chronic diseases, digital tools that enable prevention and remote monitoring will play an increasingly important role.
Communities like WSA can continue supporting innovators by strengthening collaboration across borders and sectors, helping impactful solutions reach the people who need them most.
