(London, UK) 22 Aug 2024. Naitive® Technologies, a population health company, has secured £334K co-funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, under the Biomedical Catalyst competition, to increase the accessibility of its breakthrough osteoporosis screening technology, OsteoSight.

Osteoporosis is a huge global health challenge. Every year, it leads to 37 million fractures and costs health systems billions . It is widely underdiagnosed and undertreated, and uptake of screening, which uses a dedicated scan called a DEXA, is low . Many cases are only diagnosed when it's too late, and a fracture has already occurred. Opportunistic screening could hold the key to changing this picture.

X-rays are amongst the most common, most accessible, and most cost-effective diagnostic exams performed. Each year, millions of X-rays are taken for a wide variety of purposes. These exams contain a wealth of information that, until now, has not been possible to access. This is where OsteoSight comes in. Researchers at Naitive Technologies have invented a technique powered by artificial intelligence that extracts new, clinically valuable information from these routine X-rays without requiring additional equipment or physician time. By opportunistically screening X-rays, OsteoSight automatically estimates a person's bone mineral density (BMD), a key indicator of bone health, and informs the interpreting physician if a patient is at risk of low BMD. Clinicians can deliver more impactful and cost-effective care by finding these people before they suffer a fracture.

The Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst co-funding of this project will allow Naitive to increase the number of people who stand to benefit from opportunistic screening with OsteoSight by incorporating spine and chest X-rays into their platform. Currently, the technology can be used on hip and pelvis X-rays, and by adding spine and chest X-rays, the team will be able to reach more than an additional 40% of all X-rays performed. OsteoSight's expansion into spine and chest X-rays produces another benefit. The spine, which is visible on these X-rays, is an area of high metabolic activity and, therefore, one of the earliest sites to experience loss in bone mineral density, making it ideal for early identification of osteoporosis.

Dr. Will Briggs, CEO of Naitive, said, "We are thrilled to announce that with the support of Innovate UK, Naitive is able to increase the accessibility of our osteoporosis pre-screening tool. This expansion means that millions more people stand to benefit from an improved care pathway and a significantly enhanced ability to detect and manage their osteoporosis."

This most recent grant follows a host of other announcements by Naitive, including another Innovate UK funded project announced in December 2023 and the designation of Breakthrough Device by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) .


About Naitive Technologies.
Naitive® is a venture-capital-backed enterprise at the forefront of population health innovation. Focusing on musculoskeletal health, we specialize in advanced digital technologies that enhance clinical capabilities in the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and management of chronic diseases. Our groundbreaking tools address conditions like osteopenia and osteoporosis, which contribute to millions of debilitating fractures each year, imposing severe human and economic costs.

Our flagship technology, OsteoSight™, emerged from an urgent clinical need to mitigate the incidence of fractures associated with osteoporosis. This innovative software supplements routine X-rays and integrates opportunistic assessments of bone mineral density into care pathways, improving patient outcomes. The FDA’s Breakthrough Device Designation for OsteoSight™ in 2023 underscores its significance in meeting a critical healthcare need.

Naitive® is led by an acclaimed group of physicians and scientists from Oxford and Cambridge and is backed by a board of directors and advisors with extensive expertise. Together, our mission is to ensure earlier detection, precise diagnosis, and optimal treatment for individuals confronting or susceptible to chronic illnesses.


About Innovate UK.
Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. They connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth.

Innovate UK fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Their support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions. Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation. For more information visit innovateuk.ukri.org