The inaugural National HealthTech Challenge was organised by the Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS) to bring together healthcare, research and technology professionals to address national healthcare challenges such as an ageing population, a rise in chronic diseases and a shrinking workforce.

Healthcare professionals who identified pervasive problems in the industry were teamed up with technology solution providers who submitted proposals to tackle the problems. With their expertise in their respective fields, they were able to put their heads together and come up with tech-based solutions covering areas such as artificial intelligence, multimedia, and sensors and devices.

Out of the 53 teams shortlisted for the semi-finals last month, 20 emerged as finalists.

Prototypes and concepts from the finalists were displayed at the summit yesterday, from a virtual reality tool that serves as an orientation for junior surgeons to an automated pharmacy medication dispensing kiosk.

Votes by up to 600 guests from various healthcare clusters determined the top five teams in the challenge yesterday afternoon.

Finalists may receive funding from agencies such as IHiS to develop their solutions, which may be adopted by public healthcare organisations.