by Jamie Nimmo

The company behind pioneering heart-monitoring technology praised by President Obama has landed in London as part of a scheme to nurture start-ups from troubled Lebanon. 

CardioDiagnostics, founded in the US in 2012 by Lebanese entrepreneur Ziad Sankari, is behind LifeSense, the world’s first cloud-based cardiac monitor — a wearable device that evaluates heart activity and can alert the hospital in case of emergency.

At a White House event in May, Obama told Sankari: “You are the face of change. You have the power to drive creative solutions to our pressing challenges.”

CardioDiagnostics is one of 15 start-ups on a six-month programme in London called the UK-Lebanon Tech Hub, a joint scheme by the Government and Lebanon’s central bank. 

The aim is to break into European markets before the entrepreneurs return to conflict-strewn Lebanon to grow their businesses.

Sankari said: “We’re aiming for tie-ins with medical manufacturers, device distributors, healthcare providers from the public and private sectors, and scientific and research collaborations.”