Precision health platform partners with LG to expand maternal health offerings

The US precision health AI company LifeNome will expand its maternal health offerings through a partnership with LG.

The New York-based company, which has been selected as one of the four digital health start-ups from a cohort of 1500 competing for the LG NOVA partnership ecosystem, aims to help women make informed decisions about their health and reduce the risk of gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and postpartum depression.

It has already invested resources into the women’s health space, seeking to tackle the one-size-fits-all approach that costs healthcare systems billions of dollars each year.

Its nine.moons platform offers personalised nutritional assessments and recommendations using DNA and/or microbiome analysis, personalised fitness programmes, live chat with maternal wellbeing counsellors and maternal health monitoring using devices.

Additionally, the start-up has developed a DNA-based maternal health risk screening panel for gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and soon, postpartum depression.

While not a diagnostic test, this early risk screening capability for these three major risks to mothers’ health and wellbeing is hoped to allow physicians and expecting mothers to take preventive lifestyle change action early in the pregnancy to reduce the potential risk of onset of these conditions during and after the pregnancy.

The screening tests, the company says, would require a swab testing kit that could be used by planning or expecting parents at home or in the doctor’s office.

The report would be shared and discussed only through a physician, who would also provide potential lifestyle change and active monitoring recommendations based on the risk assessment results.

Dr Ali Mostashari, LifeNome’s CEO, said: “We look forward to partnering with major women’s health and other organisations and enterprises with focus on maternal health to bring our maternal health risk screening to market.”

“The ability to take preventive action in the form of lifestyle changes and active monitoring for these conditions which together affect more than 50 per cent of pregnancies, is critical to reduce maternal morbidity and in some cases mortality.”