21 Jul Meet Ynone: Supporting Every Step of the Lymphoedema Journey
Most people have never heard of lymphoedema. Yet for those living with it, it shapes every single day: from the compression garments they wear to the specialists they depend on and the routines they can’t afford to miss.
Mara, the founder behind Ynone, set out to change what daily life with the condition actually looks like – together with Prajjwal, her ML founding engineer. She came to this as a caregiver, navigating a fragmented system with no clear guide, and that experience became the foundation for everything Ynone is building. As part of Vision Health Pioneers Cohort 8, the two are developing a platform that connects patients, families, and clinicians around a condition that has long been managed in isolation.
Getting a lymphoedema diagnosis is a very particular experience. Despite 250 million people being affected worldwide, almost no one knows about it — so you feel completely lost from the start. What was most difficult was bringing everything together: the physiotherapists, the medical supply stores, the doctors, the daily routines, the insurance. And on top of that, navigating language barriers made everything harder. But what we also learned through that difficult time is that if you find the right specialist, you can have a very good quality of life despite the condition. Good therapy is proof that people can live normally. That’s what we’re trying to make accessible to everyone.
They are two different target groups, patients and doctors, but in healthcare, they exist in a constant relationship with each other. The sector is becoming more digital, but that relationship stays at the centre. What we do to serve both sides well is research and listening. Through research, we were able to understand the specific pain points and needs on each side, and we’re working to bring those together in a product that genuinely helps both.
Support groups like Lymphselbsthilfe are absolutely essential for patients: so essential, in fact, that I now co-write lymphoedema guidelines with clinicians and run LyLife, a community specifically for children and teenagers with the condition. One moment that really stuck with me was when a young girl asked how she could shave her leg. That’s a question that would surprise even a doctor, but for someone living with a chronic condition, it’s exactly the kind of everyday challenge that matters most. It’s rarely the big medical questions. It’s the small, practical things that shape daily life.
This is one of our biggest challenges. Lymphoedema affects people from newborns through to older generations, which means we’re building for an enormous range of users, including people with very little familiarity with technology. Children who can’t yet use a smartphone independently, older patients who are still learning. One of the ways we’re approaching this is by creating a caregiver mode, where family members can be part of the treatment process and support their loved ones in sticking to their therapy routine.
The program has already been an incredible experience. In less than three months, we’ve moved faster than ever before. Getting feedback on our roadmap and business model, and working with mentors to figure out the best path to market. What I’m most looking forward to in the coming months is arriving at a clear and well-defined vision and value proposition, so we can finalize the product and take it to market with confidence.
With strong roots in the patient community and a growing understanding of what both patients and clinicians actually need, Mara, Prajjwal and Claudio are building something that goes well beyond a tracking app. We’re excited to see Ynone take shape over the coming months.
Follow their journey here: http://www.ynone.eu/