Valentina Arriagada

"One year ago, the father of young, Uruguayan innovator Valentina Arriagada was diagnosed with chronic renal failure. His illness changed his life completely, since he must now receive hemodialysis three times a week, for four hours each treatment, through which a machine extracts and filters his blood. Beyond the obvious limitations, Arriagada´s father´s illness forced him to quit his job as a salesperson at a multinational company since it was no simple task to find treatment centers abroad during his business trips.

Arriagada created Connectus Medical, a web-based platform that allows patients requiring dialysis treatments to locate treatment facilities abroad that adapt to their needs. The platform contains the medical history of the patient and the characteristics of the hemodialysis they require.

The platform is accessible free of charge both for the identification of appropriate medical centers as well as for making appointments. Long term, its creator plans on capitalizing on the platform with the introduction of further ""premium"" services, like reservations at restaurants which cater to specific dietary requirements. Today, Connectus Medical works with 4,578 dialysis centers in 161 countries."