FoodMarble targets profitability as demand grows for gut health tech in US market
FoodMarble, the Dublin-based healthtech business, expects to reach profitability by the end of this year.
Founded by Aonghus Shortt and Peter Harte in 2016, the business is based in the Guinness Enterprise Centre, has 35 staff and has raised €8 million in funding to date. It has developed a device aimed at monitoring gut health using breath testing, to help patients and clinicians work out where foods cause problems.
'We help people understand how they digest different types of food. It's like a digestive companion to work out how well you digest one food or another, to allow you to make changes in your diet to adjust,' Shortt told the Business Post. 'It can also be used by doctors. They can use it to help with diagnosing certain conditions.'
The idea came about because of an issue that Shortt's then girlfriend, now wife, had and his engineering-minded approach to helping her.
'She was having a tough time with digestion. She had no idea what was driving it and had gone to a string of doctors, got lots of tests, with no help. It was curtailing her social life and work. I had access to research literature and thought about what could help,' he said.
'That's how I came across breath testing. I went and built a prototype and started using it with her. Even though it was basic, she was able to see when she was and wasn't digesting well. She would take one type of food, eat it, measure the breath, and see how she responded.'
This led Shortt to pair up with Harte, who he had met through his research in UCD. The duo set about developing FoodMarble into a business and made some interesting discoveries along the way.
'The expectations of what the patient might think is an issue so often isn't the cause. The classic one is that so many people believe dairy is a trigger for digestive issues when it actually comes up the least in testing,' he said.
'There's such a mismatch between what we often think is the issue and what the issue actually is. Digestion is complicated.'
The business is supported by Enterprise Ireland and has previously been part of the high potential start-up unit (HPSU).
'We did HPSU and that was a great way to meet other co-founders at similar stages. We also took part in the Founders Forum. Another big help for us has been the EI team in the US,' Shortt said.
'Their health team in particular has been excellent in helping us meet potential customers. Having access to their offices in different parts of the world is a big help.'
The US is the big focus for FoodMarble and Shortt is confident the company can make increasingly large inroads into that market.
'A big focus for us is US healthcare. We've seen a large uptake from gastro-specialists and from healthcare systems there, and we've gathered quite a lot of data in the process and we're using that to help doctors understand specific issues in more detail,' he said.
'The big process is on making it a longer-term usage model so both the doctor and patient can get more insights over time.'
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Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, June 7th: on nursing home revelations, Trump versus Musk and bird droppings
Sir, – It is 20 years, almost to the day, since RTÉ broadcast the Prime Time Investigates documentary which revealed the horrors of Leas Cross nursing home in Dublin. On Wednesday, further outstanding investigative journalism by RTÉ revealed yet more horror stories in Ireland's private nursing home sector. I have no words to adequately describe the anger, profound sadness and deep frustration I felt as I watched frail, vulnerable, elderly people being denied the most basic care. As I listened to frightened residents begging and pleading for help, I also felt an overwhelming sense of the deepest fear. READ MORE My mother lived with dementia for 20 years. She has a strong family history of dementia and all her siblings have either succumbed to, or are living with, Alzheimer's disease. I cared for my mother at home for many years. I am forever thankful that she received excellent quality care, and extended care, in both our acute and voluntary hospitals. Developing dementia is one of my greatest fears. I have no family. There will be nobody to fight for good care for me, or to advocate for me, should I also succumb to dementia. When I watched frail elderly residents with dementia being treated so horrifically on the RTÉ Investigates documentary this week, I despaired. Those residents were the victims of blatant abuse. Residents with advanced dementia would most likely be unable to accurately explain their experiences to anybody, or to identify their abusers. That also makes them easy targets for such abuse. I concluded that, should I ever be diagnosed with dementia and reach that stage of illness and dependency, I would rather not be alive than be at the mercy of such so-called 'care providers'. Twenty years after Leas Cross such horrors are still happening. What does it take to make this stop? Or will this latest horror simply result in more transient outrage, more eloquent statements and yet more empty promises, until the next time? Is there always going to be a next time? – Yours, etc, BERNADETTE BRADY (PHD), Rathfarnham, Dublin. Sir, – The RTÉ Investigates programme, Inside Ireland's Nursing Homes, was truly disturbing. RTÉ and all who contributed to the making of the programme, both to camera and undercover, deserve our thanks. It does however raise some important questions which a follow-on programme might wish to address. Twenty-five years after the Leas Cross scandal, and the follow-on establishment of the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), how come care in congregated settings is increasingly provided in large for profit facilities (a worrying trend to which Hiqa has drawn attention) and what difference would it make if the Health Service Executive (HSE) were to build and run more such facilities? How come private and voluntary (non-HSE) nursing homes are not part of the overall planning process for integrated services in the six new regional HSE organisations, despite a clearly identified need to improve clinical governance across the sector as suggested by the expert group on nursing homes which reported during the Covid pandemic? Where is the evidence of follow through on all the recommendations for the development of a wider range of alternatives to nursing homes, including the development of small scale 'Household / Teaghleach'models of nursing home and congregated care? Why is the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF), essentially a medical procedures agency, still involved in 'purchasing' care for older people through a nursing home support scheme (Fair Deal) administered by the HSE across all nursing homes (most of which it does not control) while the regulator, Hiqa, has no role in regulating the payment levels to those nursing homes? Why is the Law Reform Commission report on adult safeguarding, published in April 2024, not being progressed with urgency by the Oireachtas given that the report included draft legislation? The RTÉ programme concerned two nursing homes owned by Emeis, formerly Orpea. There is plenty of information available concerning Orpea, particularly in France (where it was partially nationalised), to have at least raised concerns. There must have been some awareness of this and consideration of the possible consequences for older people in Ireland when they were allowed operate in the Irish market. It is interesting to note that the group's facility in Portlaoise is described as a nursing home but with a capacity for 101 residents it is not far off the size of Portlaoise hospital. To describe such a facility as a 'home from home' is seriously mistaken. The images of abusive and cruel behaviour and of residents corralled into one room are more suggestive of a human warehouse than a home. Finally, for all those many staff currently providing care in nursing homes to the highest standard they possibly can, in the often difficult circumstances in which they find themselves, it would be helpful if they could rely on a public system of support and guidance, including clinical support and governance, to deal with issues and concerns at short notice rather than having to await an occasional inspection from the regulator followed by a report some while later. Regulation and inspection are important but they are no longer enough. Practical supports to encourage quality care are far more likely to pick up on issues and have them addressed as they arise. – Yours ,etc. MERVYN TAYLOR, Stillorgan, Dublin. Sir, – The RTÉ Investigates programme laid bare the inhumane treatment of vulnerable residents in private nursing homes – many of whom are paying exorbitant fees of €1,400 per week. At such a staggering cost, these individuals could instead receive dignified, high-quality home care in the comfort of their own communities. That these abuses persist is a damning indictment of systemic failure. Hiqa, tasked with safeguarding standards, has clearly failed residents, families, and the State. Paper-based inspections and sporadic visits are not enough to prevent cruelty behind closed doors. If we are serious about accountability, Hiqa must have a permanent, on-the-ground presence in every facility, with 24/7 monitoring via live video feeds covering all areas – excluding only private bathrooms for dignity. Modern technology makes this feasible; what's lacking is political will. Why not implement this? If prisons and childcare centres can adopt stringent oversight, why not nursing homes, where our most fragile citizens reside? Until real-time transparency is enforced, families will never trust that their loved ones are safe. This isn't just about regulation – it's about basic humanity. – Yours, etc, PETER MALBASHA, Co Dublin. Sir, – This nursing care scandal has scared many people. My 80-year-old mother has just told me how, as she was lighting her candles for her grandchildren sitting their Leaving Certificate, she also lit one for herself. Her prayer is that she doesn't fall, break her hip and end up in a nursing home like that. Calling for help, with no one answering. I hope our Minister for Older People is listening, because this is a loud voting issue. – Yours, etc, CARMEL DOYLE, Beaumont Woods, Dublin 9. Trade union dues Sir, – Do I get a hint of disdain in Barry Walsh's letter (June 5th) about unions suggesting all should pay dues whether a union member or not ? He wonders why the general secretary of Fórsa earns three times the average pay. Does he suggest they earn the same as a shop-floor worker? 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When passions are running high, what should a university say or do when activists demand it choose sides and take action? Chicago's conclusion was straightforward: the university must remain neutral in order to meet its long-term core mission of the 'discovery, improvement, and dissemination of knowledge'. This did not mean ignoring difficult issues. Faculty and students must have full freedom of criticism, dissent and open inquiry, but the university itself 'is the home and sponsor of critics; it is not itself the critic'. Bizarrely, the board's chairman noted explicitly in a message to the college community that while Trinity is engaged in a number of EU-funded research consortia which include Israeli partners 'here is no evidence to associate any of these with breaches of international humanitarian law or human rights violations.' So what is Trinity's problem with individual Israeli academics and universities who are often eloquent critics of their governments' actions and policies? Is it not overreach to insist that the 'college should seek to align itself with like-minded universities and bodies in an effort to influence EU policy concerning Israel's participation in such collaborations?' So many questions remain unanswered. Can Trinity's decades long partnerships with Intel continue when the tech firm is thought to be Ireland's biggest importer of Israeli goods, most from its sister factory in Kiryat Gat? Are Trinity's teaching hospitals, St James's and Tallaght, now prohibited from accessing Israeli medical products and pharmaceuticals? Can Trinity's partnerships with American universities and companies continue given stringent US anti-boycott legislation? What now for Trinity's Herzog Centre, the only institution in Ireland offering Jewish studies, when your university has decided to boycott the world's only Jewish state? In singling out Israel alone for boycott and divestment while maintaining ties with other countries with well-documented human rights violations, Trinity has opened itself to the charge of institutional anti-Semitism and racism. I am ashamed of my alma mater. – Yours, etc, DR JANE MAHONY, BA (Mod), PhD, Trinity College, Dublin. Birds dropping Sir, – Reading Frank McNally's column on the provenance of James 'Skin the Goat' Fitzharris's reflection on informers , I wonder if it may come from the belief held in many places that being shat on by a bird is a sign of good luck? Personally I have never held much store in this, having been the victim many years ago on Brighton seafront of a seagull who had had a very large lunch, resulting in my repair to the nearest boutique to purchase a fresh T-shirt. That said, perhaps the informer never overflown will never again have the gift of good luck? – Yours, etc. JOHN F MCELHONE, Co Donegal. Critical climate omission Sir, – That there is a report by the Environmental Protection Agency about global warming´s effect on Ireland is welcome. ( 'Communications, transport and health of older people at increased risk from global warming, says EPA,' June 3rd). Frightening as it is in its current form, the report has a critical omission. It is has not addressed the dramatic effects of the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Amoc). In lay man's terms, this ocean current keeps Ireland habitable. Otherwise it would have the climatic conditions of southern Alaska and Canada's Hudson Bay. The weakening or ending of the Amoc is probable. It is certainly an existential threat to Ireland. Ireland is not geared for an average winter temperature of –18 degrees. It is presently comfortably above 0 degrees. It is very surprising that the EPA has decided not to include this essential element. Policymakers need all the information to get to comprehend the scale of the challenge. The Irish Government, regardless of its political hue, needs to understand the new business as usual will involve planning and action to protect the State and its citizens. I don't believe that the timescale is as long as many politicians assume. One of the stand-out facts from my Earth Science education (1992) was the speed of climate change. The Younger Dryas climatic period ended over less than 50 years, so starting our current phase. Climate systems are stable until they are not. – Yours, etc, RICHARD HERRIOTT, Aarhus, Denmark. Trumping Trump v Musk Sir, – We can all now relax and enjoy watching the world's two biggest egos burn themselves out in front of a potential audience of billions. Could this be the template for settling all global disputes in the future? Yours, etc, NIALL GINTY, Killester, Dublin. Sir, – The very serious online and very public spat between the world's most powerful man and the world's richest man is a 'big beautiful example' of how reciprocity works in real time. – Yours, etc, NOIRIN HEALY, Goatstown, Dublin. Sir, – In the very public, very dirty divorce between Trump and Musk who will get custody of JD Vance? – Yours, etc, BRID MILLER, Athlone Road, Roscommon. Sir, – I wonder did Elon Musk realise how his social media platform X would become really so apt! – Yours, etc, AIDAN RODDY, Cabinteely, Dublin 18. Funding and the arts Sir, – The tenor of Yvonne O'Reilly's letter about funding the arts in yesterday's letters page chimed with the findings of a research project I recently undertook with colleagues from Queen's University, Belfast, and Liverpool University into a wide range of 'Arts for Peace' projects in Northern Ireland. Too often what passes for evaluation is really about accountability with funded organisations wanting to assure funders they have achieved their set goals. Funders for their part tend to see it as a purely administrative process, with vasts amount of data going largely unanalysed. But the value of this data must be questionable given the limited scope for acknowledging what is learnt from unsuccessful aspects of funded projects and outcomes that were not envisaged at the time of application. I can reassure your correspondent, however, that there are examples of good practice out there that will hopefully in due course inform a more productive evaluation culture. – Yours, etc. DAVID GRANT, School of Arts, English, and Languages, Queen's University, Belfast.
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Increased vigilance' needed from Hiqa's regulatory approach to nursing homes, Taoiseach says
There are issues that should be examined in the regulatory approach of the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) to ensure the welfare of elderly people in nursing homes , Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said. He was speaking in reaction to allegations of elder abuse and neglect in nursing homes Beneavin House, in Glasnevin, Dublin, and The Residence, Portlaoise, Co Laois, which were shown in an RTÉ Investigates programme aired Wednesday night. Mr Martin described the content of the programme as 'absolutely unacceptable' and said 'there will have to be increased vigilance from the regulatory approach, and that is something that Government will be looking at'. The documentary shared scenes of older people allegedly being 'manhandled', ignored when asking for help to go to the toilet, and 'being left in incontinence pads for so long their clothes were soaked'. READ MORE Emeis Ireland, which operates both nursing homes at the centre of the scandal, has apologised 'unequivocally to all residents and their families for the suffering and distress' caused. [ Staff in nursing home at centre of neglect claims 'did not show a shred of empathy' for woman (92) Opens in new window ] Mr Martin said Government policy on safeguarding elders' welfare 'isn't the issue'. 'It will be an additional help but fundamentally it's behaviour on a day-to-day basis,' he said. 'It is how homes are operated and it's the regulation then of that that ultimately will still have to be the first response, and the key, to situations like this.' Hiqa is 'effective and impactful in many areas', however 'the regulatory framework didn't catch very horrific and shocking behaviour towards people in nursing homes. That has to be taken on board', Mr Martin said. [ Review of all nursing homes operated by Emeis Ireland requested by Department of Health Opens in new window ] There is 'a lack of a clear ethos and ethical framework' in the governance and ownership of the nursing homes in question which impacts 'respecting the dignity of every human being', Mr Martin said. He pledged 'additional investment in public facilities into the future', which he said 'tend to deal with more acute patients'. 'We have invested very strongly in the public system, which people may not realise, through the refurbishment of existing community district hospitals across the country over the last four to five years,' he said. A review of the 27 Emeis-owned nursing homes in the State was initiated Thursday morning after Minister of State with Responsibility for Older People Kieran O'Donnell met Hiqa representatives. Safeguarding teams have since been brought in to Beneavin House and The Residence, Portlaoise, by the Health and Safety Authority , The Irish Times understands. A demonstration has been planned for next week by Care Champions Ireland, an advocacy group for families with relatives in care facilities, outside Leinster House to 'demand safeguarding legislation' and 'reform all care provisions'. [ What is Emeis and where are its Irish care homes located? Opens in new window ] In a statement on Friday evening Emeis said the RTÉ footage was 'both shocking and unacceptable and unquestionably equated to poor and abusive practice. 'Emeis Ireland has taken appropriate safeguarding actions in relation to residents and specific actions in relation to staff and a full organisational review is under way. These incidents were not representative of the professionalism and commitment of our employees in Ireland, nor of the everyday life in our facilities.'
Irish Times
11 hours ago
- Irish Times
Leona Macken on cancer in Ireland: ‘Mammies, daughters, sisters are being ripped from their families'
Leona Macken says she is fighting to stay alive for her daughters. The 38-year-old woman with incurable cervical cancer received an apology on Tuesday from the HSE over 'failings' that occurred in two smear tests before her diagnosis in 2023. Leona, from Cork, and her husband, Alan, from Dublin, have two young daughters – Quin is eight and Drew is about to turn six. In an interview with The Irish Times at their home in Artane, Leona says: 'That's what keeps me going. I want them to look back and see how much I wanted to stay here, and how much I fought to stay here. READ MORE 'All I've ever wanted to do is give my kids a nice childhood that they don't have to recover from when they're adults. And I just feel like it's a bit out of my hands now. I mean, they're going to be affected, no matter what.' Leona sued the HSE over two cervical smear tests, one in 2016 and one in 2020, claiming they were incorrectly reported as negative. Medical expert evidence given in her case indicated that the test by US company Quest Diagnostics, which analyses smear tests for the HSE, should not have been reported as negative and concluded that the delay in identifying precancerous abnormalities directly resulted in her developing cervical cancer. Despite the clear smears, she knew something was wrong. She thought she might be experiencing polycystic ovaries, endometriosis or perimenopause, but didn't think 'for one second' that it was cancer. [ CervicalCheck patients have improved healthcare with their advocacy, study finds Opens in new window ] However, the hairdresser was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer in June 2023. She had a hysterectomy followed by chemoradiotherapy. Despite intensive treatment, a recurrence of her cancer was diagnosed in early 2025. The mother of two now has stage 4 cancer meaning that it is treatable, to an extent, but not curable. She has asked doctors about her prognosis but hasn't been given an exact answer. 'They said: 'Years, but short years.' I know statistically it's kind of five years' time from when you were diagnosed. There are some women who got six, seven, eight years. I'm just determined to get longer again. There's nothing I won't try, there's nowhere I won't go,' she says. She has been looking into clinical trials in the US. For now she is still receiving chemotherapy and immunotherapy in Dublin. She said her pain and symptoms have improved, so she is hopeful for good news at her next scan. She says she is open with her daughters about her illness but tries to protect them as much as possible. Her oldest daughter, Quin, will often ask: 'Will this medicine work?' to which she will reply: 'Hopefully, I'm really, really trying.' 'I'll never say: 'Yeah, I'll be okay,' because I don't know if I'll be okay.' I wasn't dragged through a trial, thank God ... but these court cases shouldn't be happening in the first place — Leona Macken Her daughters cried when they found out she was going to lose her hair, so she tried to make the experience positive for them. 'I let them cut it and I let them shave it. I was just thinking, if they come home from school some day and I'm sitting here with no hair, it would be such a shock to them. 'So, we tried to make it fun. We were crying, they were crying, we were hugging, we were laughing, but we tried to make it as fun as possible. 'They each did a plait and cut the plait out, and they kept a plait.' Her family and the wider community have been a big support since her diagnosis and 'keep me going'. Leona would 'love to sit down with the Minister for Health, woman to woman'. Her solicitor Cian O'Carroll has contacted the office of the Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill , in a bid to set up a meeting. 'I would love to just sit down with her and just speak to her, woman to woman, let her see that I'm not a statistic, I'm a person, and there's so many more of me,' says Leona. 'It's people's lives – mammies, daughters, sisters are being ripped from their families, and the devastation that is left is massive. 'The way I look at it is: I feel like I won't know any different, I'll be gone. My kids and my husband and my family will never be the same again. I'm not the only one, and I really want to stress that, because even though I'm talking about my story, it's not just my story.' Leona Macken. Photograph: Alan Betson Speaking to RTÉ radio during the week, the Minister apologised to Leona and said women should not have to fight for access to their medical history. Leona says she is aware of a number of other women who are in a similar position to her but not doing as well, so she feels compelled to speak out. She wants to 'stop another family from going through this' but fears she won't be the last person affected by misreading of smears. [ Woman who received HSE apology over cancer diagnosis failings encourages women to get a smear test Opens in new window ] Despite her faith being shaken in the system, she believes women should be offered smears on a more regular basis. 'It doesn't hurt. It takes minutes. It could prolong your life,' she says. She says her two daughters will '100 per cent' get the vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), viruses that can cause cancer, and smear tests when they are older. She says questions remain as to how her smear tests were incorrectly read, but she has 'let go' of the initial anger she felt. 'I was angry at the start, but I had to let go of the anger because it was not doing any good, and it was kind of ruining the happiness of now,' she says. 'I'm not angry any more, I'm more worried. I'm just worried about my kids now, and other women going through this. 'I just want something positive to come from this. I don't want this to be a negative thing. I know it's a horror story, and I know people are horrified. They're only hearing about it now; we've been dealing with this for two years. 'So, for me now, I've let go of the anger and think: These the cards I've been dealt with, what can I do with it? What good can come of this?' That's where I'm at now.' On Tuesday, an apology was read in the High Court as she settled her action against the HSE. She told The Irish Times that while the apology cannot change what happened to her, it was still 'a big deal for me'. 'I felt like it just validated everything I'm saying,' she says. 'I know that changes nothing, but hopefully, going forward, it'll change something. 'I mean, there's baby steps being taken. I wasn't dragged through a trial, thank God ... but these court cases shouldn't be happening in the first place.' The letter of apology from the chief executive of the National Screening Service, Fiona Murphy, stated, on behalf of the service and the HSE, that it wished to apologise to Leona and her family 'for the failings that have occurred and led to your diagnosis'. 'I wish to express our deep regret to you and your family and acknowledge the many challenges that you have faced as a result of your diagnosis.'
