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Advancing a platform for collaborative research

How a new data platform can help researchers make groundbreaking medical discoveries.

Black and white portrait of a smiling man with short, slightly wavy hair. He is wearing a dark sweater over a white collared shirt and is posed against a plain white background, giving the image a professional and clean appearance.
Einar Martin Aandahl is the CEO and co-founder of the Norwegian start-up company Ledidi. Photo: Ledidi
Published

Jan 10, 2025

Author

Sofia Linden

Category
Start-up

Using health data for research and analysis is key to solving the challenges facing the health sector and to ensuring people live longer, healthier and better lives. Still, many barriers remain to efficiently collect, analyse and share data between researchers.

A new platform, developed by the Norwegian start-up company Ledidi, aims to help researchers overcome these obstacles. The platform combines study design, data capture, statistical analysis, and data visualisation capabilities, and is developed with a particular focus on fostering multi-centre collaborations between institutions nationally and internationally.

“The Covid-19 pandemic saw the need to gather high quality data quickly and translate research findings into efficient treatments. This demanded a rapid response that required a collaborative approach, with researchers committed to collect and share data,” comments Einar Martin Aandahl, CEO of Ledidi.

A group of medical professionals engaged in a collaborative meeting around a table. The scene includes doctors and nurses wearing scrubs and lab coats, with one person holding a pen, and another looking at printed charts featuring graphs. A laptop is open on the table, and the group appears to be discussing a clinical topic in a bright, modern conference room. The image is viewed through a glass partition, giving it a candid and professional atmosphere.
Photo: Ledidi

The challenges

The challenges to making the most of health data can be summed up in three main areas: international compliance requirements, limited usability of traditional tools and scalability issues with storage and data sharing.

“Firstly, collecting insights globally necessitates adherence to various data security and compliance frameworks, which can be complex and time-consuming,” says Aandahl.

“Secondly, traditional software is not designed for collaboration and is often not user friendly. Clinicians who prioritise patient care and have limited time for data collection are in need of new solutions,” continues Aandahl.

“And finally, the absence of cloud-based data storage solutions hinders the ability to capture data effectively at scale.”

A close-up image of a laptop displaying a dataset related to colon cancer liver metastasis. The screen shows a tabular format with columns such as "Status," "Recurrence status," and other medical details, with data highlighted in various colors for categorization. The hands of a person, possibly a healthcare professional, are typing on the keyboard. A stethoscope and clipboard rest on the desk in the blurred background, indicating a medical or research setting. The scene reflects data analysis in a healthcare or scientific environment.
Photo: Ledidi

The solution

The company Ledidi was founded in 2016 by two academic surgeons and three software engineers with expertise in system architecture and cloud computing. They saw the need for an easy-to-use platform where researchers can collaborate on health data to make new impactful discoveries in medicine.

“Adopting an all-in-one platform offers significant cost savings at the organisational level and reduces the complexity of user adoption. Moreover, it enhances data security by eliminating the need to physically transport or upload datasets across multiple systems,” explains Aandahl.

An individual is using a laptop displaying a "Breast cancer project" interface. The screen shows a dashboard with labeled variables such as "Treatment," "Baseline characteristics," "Breast cancer stage," and "Previous chemotherapy." Categories are organized in a tile format, with options like "New variable" and "New variable group" in the top-right menu. The user, whose hand and wristwatch are visible, interacts with the system in a modern office setting. A blurred whiteboard with markers is seen in the background, suggesting a collaborative or research-focused environment.
Photo: Ledidi

Landing monumental deals

The company has already achieved both national and international success. Last year, Ledidi was awarded a contract with the South-Eastern Regional Health Authority of Norway (Helse Sør-Øst), which will use Ledidi’s platform for research projects and clinical registries. The platform has also been chosen for the EPOS study, an large international study on colon cancer. Moreover, CMR Surgical has chosen Ledidi Core for a paediatric surgery prospective clinical trial in NHS hospitals.

Ledidi Core was also recently listed on the UK Government's Digital Marketplace and recognised for the second consecutive year by Gartner analysts in their Hype Cycle for Healthcare Data, Analytics, and AI report.

A laptop is placed on a white desk, displaying a data visualization interface with a scatterplot chart. The chart features data points and a linear regression line, analyzing variables such as "Overall survival time" and "Recurrence-free survival time." Statistical details like Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients are listed below the chart. Nearby, a small green plant in a minimalist vase and a closed notebook with a pen enhance the workspace's aesthetic. The setting is bright, with natural light streaming through sheer curtains, suggesting a calm and focused work environment.
Photo: Ledidi

Member of health clusters

Ledidi is a member of both Oslo Cancer Cluster and Norway Health Tech.

“Being a member of the largest Norwegian health clusters gives us access to broad and complementary networks in the health, life science and oncology sector. The clusters also have extensive expertise in business development and have helped us with introductions and partnering opportunities both nationally and internationally.”

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