Ethera Health: Transforming post-surgery recovery and reducing hospital readmissions

Ethera Health addresses post-surgery complications, hospital stay duration and readmissions, revolutionising patient care and healthcare efficiency.

Ethera Health is a UK-based medical technology company dedicated to enhancing patient care and healthcare efficiency through digital innovation. Founded from a cross-disciplinary initiative between UCL Hospital’s (UCLH) medical professors and UCL Computer Science, Ethera Health tackles a critical challenge: increasing patient monitoring capabilities while reducing hospital stays after major surgery, freeing up vital hospital beds. 

Their participation in the CDI Impact Accelerator programme accelerated the development of their flagship product, the cloud-based platform Halo-X, refining and tailoring it for their target patient group while strengthening security and scalability on AWS. 

Addressing a pressing healthcare challenge

With around 10 million surgeries performed annually in the UK, post-procedure complications remain a major burden on healthcare systems. Readmissions strain hospital resources, while the backlog of surgeries—worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic—has left over 10% of patients waiting more than a year for treatment. NHS trusts have had to divert 3.5 million operations to the independent sector in the past year in response. 

Ethera Health emerged from a randomised trial, iROC, featured in JAMA in May 2022 (Catto et al. 2022) which demonstrated how remote patient monitoring (RPM) data and performance indicators can be used to measure differences in patients who experience smooth recoveries versus those who face complications during post-major surgery recovery. 

A pioneering digital solution

Ethera Health’s leading product, Halo-X, is a cloud-based platform that facilitates progress tracking and recovery assessment in clinical pathways post-acute interventions and chronic disease settings. By leveraging remote health monitoring and advanced analytics, it provides real-time clinical insights, empowering healthcare providers to make informed decisions and improve patient outcomes. 

The platform integrates seamlessly with IoT health devices, including Ethera’s proprietary biometric sensor, MyLoopa. This wearable continuously tracks heart rate and activity levels from pre-surgery to home recovery. Powered by the Connected Surgery algorithm, biometric data is analysed to detect early signs of deterioration, allowing for timely specialist intervention—offering a cost-effective way to free up hospital beds without compromising quality of care. 

Halo-X also connects with existing electronic health records (EHRs), ensuring healthcare providers have instant access to patient data. A robust data engine, incorporating machine learning and contextual analytics, predicts patient outcomes and supports safe early discharges—reducing hospital stays and lowering readmission rates. 

Scaling with the CDI

Ethera Health accelerated the development of its Halo-X platform through the CDI Impact Accelerator programme, refining its technology and strengthening its AWS cloud infrastructure. Expert support from UCL and AWS enabled flexible migration, enhanced security, and rapid feature deployment. As a result, the team secured commercial projects and launched pioneering ventures in the UK and internationally. 

The programme also equipped Ethera with expertise in serverless architecture, allowing for rapid prototyping with clinicians without high infrastructure costs. Using AWS-based open-source tools like FHIR Works, they explored interoperable integration scenarios. 

During the bespoke AWS Working Backwards workshop—exclusive to UCL CDI participants—they refined their value proposition and developed a clear communication strategy, essential for engaging partners and investors. 

Overall, Ethera Health accelerated product development in line with responsible digital innovation principles, gaining secure, scalable tools and the right partnerships to drive lasting impact on patient outcomes. 

Ronnie Stafford Ethera’s CTO summarises their experience at CDI:

“The CDI is an ideal incubator for us to gain access to technical and business knowledge that can support our growth. IDEALondon workspace was needed and access to the AWS team was important as well as the mentors, advisors, and industry experts who helped us. Being accepted into a reputable incubator program like the UCL CDI is also a validation and provides credibility as we go forward with partners and for funding.”

References

• Catto JWF, Khetrapal P, Ricciardi F, et al. Effect of Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy With Intracorporeal Urinary Diversion vs Open Radical Cystectomy on 90-Day Morbidity and Mortality Among Patients With Bladder Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2022;327(21):2092–2103. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.7393