Singapore’s National HealthTech Agency Synapxe officially launched its new Innovation Lab, Terrarium on 18 Sep at Elementum in One-North.  Health Minister Ong Ye Kung officiated the opening of the new location.

Terrarium will facilitate the development of new and innovative HealthTech solutions and platforms to serve Singapore’s healthcare needs, improving the lives of millions. Industry partners and innovators will have a dedicated and safe space to ideate, experiment and connect with the public healthcare ecosystem, right in the precinct of Singapore’s high tech and R&D clusters.

From calls-for-innovations to pitching sessions and new technology showcases, Terrarium is the latest addition to Synapxe’s HealthX ecosystem of enablers, making it easier for companies to pursue solutions for Singapore’s public health sector.

Ngiam Siew Ying, CEO of Synapxe, said, “With the launch of Synapxe just over a year ago, we have made good progress in continuing to tech-enable our healthcare system. A key milestone for us was completing the roll-out of the Next Generation Electronic Medical Record (NGEMR) in both the National Healthcare Group (NHG) and National University Health System (NUHS) clusters this July. A patient can now enjoy a more seamless experience between the two healthcare clusters, with connected care and data. This has become more than a health IT project. It is a key enabler for healthcare transformation.

Synapxe will continue evolving as a leading healthtech agency, to be a positive force for healthcare transformation and innovation through collaboration. Terrarium underscores our role as a partner to our public healthcare institutions, and ambition to work with companies big and small, high-tech and R&D clusters, to bring about game-changing innovations that will deliver exceptional impact across our healthcare ecosystem. Terrarium is a symbol of Synapxe’s commitment to innovation, to reimagine healthcare solutions and explore emerging technologies for tomorrow’s healthcare growth” added CEO of Synapxe.

Synapxe new Lab at Elementum also hosts the new Healthcare Integrated Operations (HITOps) Centre. Built based on a centralised operations concept, HITOps brings together the operations control for IT infrastructure, applications, and cybersecurity operations for the public healthcare sector in one single location. This will enhance the situational awareness of different operation teams across different domains, leading to quicker responses and resolutions in event of any IT or cyber incident. Synapxe will progressively integrate more tools and capabilities into HITOps in the next few years. These include enhancements using automation, AI and machine learning to further improve IT operations and future-proof Synapxe’s operational capabilities.

To achieve better healthcare outcomes, Synapxe collaborates with many local-based partners to drive new innovations. The focus is on 'premises-neutral' care which means the Synapxe priorities the technology or application that has potential to be used in public healthcare settings, at home to empower patients and caregivers.

Inventions were centered around the strengths of "Augmenting Healthcare Professionals and Empowering Patients" as well "Integrating Applications, Infrastructure and Security Operations"

An overview of some of the projects showcased at the Terrarium launch event demonstrate Synapxe's collaborative efforts. The projects exemplify how GenAI can be integrated into patient care in ways that can further refine and personalize patient care, supporting Singapore's vision of a healthier society. Some of the projects featured at Terrarium include; 

• The portable SoundEye Lasso Fall Detection, a contactless mobile device that detects and prevents patient’s falls at hospitals and care centers. The prototype was piloted at Singapore Christian Home (SCH) to monitor residents in beds and wheelchairs. Within three months of a successful trial at SCH, the product is being further developed for use in hospitals. This non-invasive monitoring technology can help improve the quality of life of aging patients in care systems.

• Leveraging Generative AI (GenAI) technology applications, Synapxe has collaborated with Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), a member of the National Healthcare Group to conceptualise “Visual Pillbox”, an customised medication intake scheduler, enhancing patient education and adherence. Patients and caregivers with complex medication regimes can use this to manage their medications effectively.

• Health Kaki is a unique initiative that utilises GenAI to create personalised and actionable recommendations based on health goals discussed with family doctors during their HealthierSG consultations. Co-developed by the Ministry of Health (MOH), Health Promotion Board (HPB), Temus, Amazon Web Services and Synapxe, this prototype allows residents to interact digitally with the app to refine and personalise their lifestyle prescription action plans starting with diet and exercise.