An app which supports children in hospital has raised £2.5 million to expand overseas.
London-based Little Journey, which was founded in Leeds, enables patients to take virtual tours of the hospital, with interactive animations explaining what will happen and who they will meet at each stage of their hospital journey.
Also featuring games, relaxation guides and information for parents, it claims to reduce anxiety by 32%, recovery time by 30% and same-day cancellations by 42%.
The platform also includes management portals for hospitals and for clinical trials involving children.
Little Journey was founded by Dr Chris Evans, an anaesthetist working with children and a father himself, after he joined forces with product designer Sophie Copley.
“We’re passionate about improving the experience of children coming to the hospital and providing data-driven personalised care. This investment will help us support more children undergoing a wider range of procedures all over the world,” said Dr Evans.
Little Journey has been through the NHS Accelerator and also took part in the LEGO Foundation’s Play For All accelerator. It is working with the LEGO Foundation to tailor the app for autistic children and children with ADHD.
The funding round was led by Octopus Ventures.
Joe Stringer, partner, Health at Octopus Ventures, added: “Chris, Sophie and the Little Journey team have developed a platform that not only has a hugely positive impact on the kids it’s built to help but reduces costs for hospitals delivering paediatric care and smooth the creation of new, better treatments for children.”