Little Journey, a London-based startup, has recently raised $3.1 million to help make hospital-related clinical trials more accessible to children and their families. Founded by anesthetist Dr. Chris Evans, the platform provides an app which helps make children aware of who they’re meeting and where they’re going and also includes animated characters that explain what happens in medical procedures and clinical trials.
The aim of the platform is to support all children in the personalized delivery of care and help reduce the anxiety that is associated with hospital procedures and clinical trials. Little Journey’s strategy has enabled a reduction in anxiety by 32%, recovery time by 30%, and same-day cancellations by 42%. It is currently deployed across over 50 National Health Insurance (NHS) trusts in the UK.
Dr. Chris Evans had the idea to create the app due to his experiences witnessing how distressed and uncertain children looked when coming in for surgery. He noticed that the children were given adult documents which were difficult to understand and thought that there should be a better way to support the healthcare of children. Evans’ goal was to use technology to deliver the same support that the children got from their families or caregivers.
Octopus Ventures was the lead investor for the round of fundraising, with other investors including Human Ventures, WACHS and Longevity Ventures. Octopus Ventures is a venture capital firm based in London, having invested in notable names such as Cazoo, Depop and Elvie. With the fresh funds, Little Journey plans to expand their platform and look into using data collected from their platform to provide more personalized care.
Dr. Chris Evans is the co-founder and CEO of Little Journey. He’s a general anesthetist based in Oxford and is dedicated to finding new ways to make care more efficient, equitable and patient-centred. His background in anesthetics has driven him to put this goal into practice with Little Journey. With the app he and his cofounders created, they hope to make the experience of a child coming into hospital a less daunting one not just in the UK, but around the world.
