HeartMan · Project

Smart Phone Coach That Helps Heart Failure Patients Follow Their Treatment Plan

healthTestedTRL 6

Imagine having a personal health coach on your phone that knows your heart condition inside out. HeartMan is a mobile app that tracks how a heart failure patient is doing — weight, fluid intake, exercise — and gives them daily nudges to stick to their treatment. It uses psychology tricks (the uncomfortable feeling when your actions don't match what you know is right) to actually change behaviour, not just remind people. The system was tested in real clinical trials across Europe with actual patients.

By the numbers

1–2%

of developed world population affected by congestive heart failure

65+

age group most frequently hospitalized due to heart failure

EUR 3,325,050

EU funding for development and validation

clinical trials conducted for validation

consortium partners across 5 countries

The business problem

What needed solving

Heart failure is the most frequent cause of hospitalization for people over 65, affecting 1–2% of the developed world. Patients struggle to follow complex daily management routines — medications, fluid tracking, weight monitoring, exercise — especially when they are elderly and dealing with multiple health conditions. This non-adherence leads to avoidable hospital readmissions that cost healthcare systems billions annually.

The solution

What was built

A mobile application with a built-in decision support system that delivers personalized health advice to heart failure patients. The app includes predictive models (short-term and long-term), a cognitive behavioural therapy module based on cognitive dissonance, mindfulness exercises, health device integration for monitoring, and electronic health record interoperability. Medical device certification documentation was prepared.

Audience

Who needs this

Digital health companies building chronic disease management platformsHealth insurers seeking to reduce heart failure readmission costsMedical device companies adding digital therapeutics to cardiac product linesHospital networks running heart failure outpatient programsTelemedicine providers expanding into cardiology self-management

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Digital Health & MedTech

SME

Target: Companies developing chronic disease management apps or remote patient monitoring platforms

If you are a digital health company struggling to keep patients engaged with your app — this project developed a decision support system combining predictive models with cognitive behavioural therapy that was validated in 2 clinical trials across 5 countries. The mobile application includes a dynamic monitoring module and personalized advice engine you could license or adapt for your platform.

Health Insurance

enterprise

Target: Health insurers looking to reduce hospitalization costs for elderly members

If you are a health insurer dealing with repeated hospital admissions from heart failure patients aged over 65 — this project built a personal health system that helps patients manage medications, fluid intake, weight, and exercise. Heart failure affects 1–2% of the developed world and is the most frequent cause of hospitalization in the over-65 group, making prevention tools a direct cost saver.

Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices

mid-size

Target: Medical device manufacturers expanding into companion digital therapeutics

If you are a medical device company looking to add digital companion tools to your cardiac product line — this project developed a CE-certification-ready mobile application with advanced health device integration and standard-based data management for wide interoperability. The consortium of 9 partners including 3 industrial partners already prepared the documentation necessary for certification as a medical device.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or implement this technology?

The project received EUR 3,325,050 in EU funding across 9 partners over 3+ years. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated with the coordinator (Institut Jozef Stefan, Slovenia). The consortium explicitly built business models as part of the project, suggesting they planned for commercial licensing.

Can this scale beyond heart failure to other chronic conditions?

The core architecture — predictive models, cognitive behavioural therapy delivery, and health device monitoring — is condition-agnostic in design. The decision support system and mindfulness-based engagement approach could be adapted for diabetes, COPD, or other conditions requiring daily self-management. Based on available project data, the current system is specifically validated for congestive heart failure.

What is the IP situation and how can I license this?

The consortium included 3 industrial partners and 2 SMEs who had key roles in developing prototypes. IPR management was an explicit project activity involving all 9 partners. Contact the coordinator at Institut Jozef Stefan in Slovenia to discuss licensing arrangements.

Is this certified as a medical device?

The project prepared the documentation necessary for certification as a medical device, but based on available project data, full CE marking certification may not have been completed during the project period (ended April 2019). A licensee would likely need to complete the regulatory pathway.

How was it validated and what were the results?

The system was validated in 2 clinical trials that tested both medical effectiveness and usability. The trials used a human-centred design approach. Based on available project data, specific outcome numbers from the trials would need to be obtained from the consortium's published results.

How does it integrate with existing hospital IT systems?

The system was built with standard-based data management specifically for wide interoperability, and includes electronic health record integration. This means it was designed to plug into existing healthcare IT infrastructure rather than operate in isolation.

Consortium

Who built it

The HeartMan consortium brings together 9 partners from 5 European countries (Belgium, Spain, Finland, Italy, Slovenia), with a balanced mix of 3 industrial partners, 3 universities, and 2 research institutes. The 33% industry ratio and presence of 2 SMEs signals genuine commercial intent — these are not just academic observers. The industrial partners had a key role in developing prototypes to ensure industry-standard robustness, and the entire consortium participated in IPR management and business model development. The coordinator, Institut Jozef Stefan in Slovenia, is a well-known research institute with strong technology transfer capabilities. With EUR 3,325,050 in EU funding already invested, the core technology risk has been substantially de-risked through 2 clinical trials.

INSTITUT JOZEF STEFANCoordinator · SI
UNIVERSITEIT GENTparticipant · BE
EUROPEAN HEART NETWORK AISBLparticipant · BE
SENLAB DRUZBA ZA INFORMACIJSKO TEHNOLOGIJO DOOparticipant · SI
ATOS SPAIN SAparticipant · ES
CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHEparticipant · IT
KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVENparticipant · BE
BITTIUM BIOSIGNALS OYparticipant · FI
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZAparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

Institut Jozef Stefan, Slovenia — research institute coordinating the consortium. Contact via institutional channels or through SciTransfer for a warm introduction.

Order a report on this consortium See INSTITUT JOZEF STEFAN profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing the HeartMan technology or connecting with the consortium? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction to the right people and provide a detailed technology brief.

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