Penelope and the Power of Prevention

Continuing the conversation with Miloš Tkáčik on protecting mothers and babies through digital health

Some topics cannot be covered in a single conversation.

That is especially true when the subject is maternal healthcare prevention.

After our first discussion on THE BRIDGE, it became clear that the work Miloš Tkáčik and his team are doing deserves a deeper look. Not because it is complex, but because it is meaningful.

High-risk hypertension during pregnancy remains one of the leading causes of complications for mothers and newborns globally. Despite medical advances, too many women are still monitored too late, too infrequently, or under unnecessary stress.

Prevention fails when systems are designed around institutions instead of people.

This second conversation focuses on Penelope, a digital health project created to shift that balance.

Why returning to this topic matters

In our previous episode, Miloš and I discussed digital health from a systems perspective. Regulation. Scalability. Trust.

This time, we narrowed the lens to one group. Pregnant women navigating high-risk hypertension.

Prevention here is not theoretical. It is urgent.

Pregnancy already demands physical and emotional resilience. Adding frequent hospital visits, long travel times, and constant uncertainty only increases risk. Penelope was designed to remove friction, not add another layer of technology.

A design grounded in empathy and evidence

Penelope enables pregnant women to measure their blood pressure at home, several times per day, using a simple digital interface. That data is transmitted securely to their physician, who can review it in real time.

This changes the care model.

Doctors no longer rely on sporadic checkups. They see trends as they emerge. Women no longer wait and worry. They feel supervised and supported.

Lower stress is not a side effect. It is a clinical advantage.

When stress decreases, compliance increases. When compliance increases, data becomes reliable. When data is reliable, prevention becomes effective.

Clinical studies before scaling

One of the strongest messages Miloš reinforced in this episode is the importance of evidence.

Penelope did not jump straight to international rollout. It moved through development and pilot testing into a multi-site clinical study across 10 hospitals in the Czech Republic. Both private and state institutions are involved.

This matters.

Healthcare solutions must work across different settings to earn trust. Evidence must reflect real-world conditions, not ideal environments.

Women are enrolled early in pregnancy and remain in the study for up to twenty weeks. This long-term engagement is essential for understanding outcomes, compliance, and clinical value.

Trust as the foundation of compliance

Digital health often struggles with sustained engagement. Miloš made a critical observation. Compliance is not driven solely by reminders. It is driven by trust.

When a woman knows her doctor is actively reviewing her data, motivation changes. Measurement becomes part of daily life. Anxiety decreases. Confidence increases.

This is especially impactful in rural and underserved regions, where distance to care can be significant. Remote monitoring bridges that gap without sacrificing clinical oversight.

Access becomes prevention.

Looking beyond Europe

While the current study is based in Central Europe, the implications are global. In many parts of Africa, hypertension during pregnancy affects a significant percentage of women. Access to consistent prenatal care remains limited.

Expansion into these regions requires more than technology. It requires partnerships, financing models, and respect for local healthcare systems.

Miloš was clear that the goal is not rapid deployment. Sustainable integration improves the quality of life in the communities where people live.

When prevention improves local health outcomes, communities stabilize. Healthcare systems strengthen. Families thrive.

Sustainability and reimbursement

Penelope's purpose is not reimbursement, but it is essential for scale. When prevention reduces complications and lowers long-term costs, insurers and policymakers pay attention.

Because Penelope is built on clinical studies, it speaks the language decision makers understand. Data. Outcomes. Risk reduction.

For investors, this means credibility. For governments, alignment with public health priorities. For families, reassurance during one of life’s most vulnerable moments.

Why this conversation continues

Penelope represents a quiet but powerful shift in healthcare innovation. Less hype. More trust. Less burden. More support.

Returning to this conversation with Miloš reinforced a core belief of mine. The most impactful innovations are not the loudest. They are the ones that stay with people every day and make life safer.

If you are working in maternal health, digital prevention, clinical research, or healthcare investment, I invite you to connect. Building the future of healthcare requires continuity, not one-off conversations.

Prevention works best when it is human.

Timecode:

00:00 Introduction to the Penelope Project

00:21 The Need for a Special App for Pregnant Women

00:40 Collaboration with Humberg Hospital

01:16 Features of the Penelope App

02:41 Pilot Phase and Expansion

03:48 Challenges in Ensuring Compliance

06:33 Global Expansion and African Initiatives

07:22 Future Goals and Aspirations

07:51 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Links:

Pavlina Walter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlinawalter/

Website: PavlinaWalter.com

Guests:

Miloš Tkáčik : https://www.linkedin.com/in/tkacik/

Transcript:

Pavlina Walter: Penelope. This is another very beautiful project which Principal is creating right now. It's a study for pregnant women with high-risk hypertension. They can have serious health issues during the pregnancy and after the pregnancy, and also the baby is at risk. Why you decided to create a special app for these pregnant women?

Miloš Tkáčik: It was the second project in our portfolio, because the first was the spa. And second, we met the general manager of Hradec Králové Hospital. It is a private hospital, the best in the region. And he, with our team, came with the idea, "Hey, let's do this for women." They are focused on pregnancy. I have three kids, so I know it's not an easy part of life. Especially when a woman is pregnant, we can help. We have the technology. We like the chance to help, not in a medical way, but to lower stress. We started there.

Pavlina Walter: So this application you co-developed with Nemo, by the way...

Miloš Tkáčik: Part of it with Dr. Huml.

Pavlina Walter: It's for the women with hypertension. If I understand, this application is divided into two parts. The pregnant woman has an application, but also the doctor. So the greatest advantage is the doctor can see the medical data of her patient in real time, which I think is absolutely great. So, why is the application named Penelope?

Miloš Tkáčik: It's beautiful.

Pavlina Walter: It is, yeah.

Miloš Tkáčik: Maybe I will not be able to answer that, but we found it sounds good. It's close to a girl's name. It works in all languages simply. But the team had another motivation, I don't know.

Pavlina Walter: Okay, let's call it Pen, yeah. We will come up with the explanation probably later. Just tell me, you developed this application over two or three years; the pilot phase has been tested in the hospital. So now you started a big study all over the Czech Republic with ten sites? So if you can explain why you decided to do it.

Miloš Tkáčik: For us, it's better to have the study done for as many women as possible. Because we are mostly based here in the Czech Republic, we started here, but for example, we are also in the US and Canada. The study will continue in different regions. We do not do this only in one hospital or for state-owned hospitals, but across several medical state institutions. Because these things work whether it is a state-owned hospital or a small private ambulance. So, we wanted a combination.

Pavlina Walter: And another challenging point with this application is going to be how you keep the ladies able to complete the application for 20 weeks. Because as a requirement for this study, it's to be in a stage earlier than 20 weeks. So it means when you have the delivery on week 40, you will be using the application for 20 weeks. So probably you were thinking about the compliance how you would like to achieve the compliance to collect data during those 20 weeks, three times per day to measure the blood pressure.

Miloš Tkáčik: The first motivation why it is so is that it is much easier for women in general to do this online. At home, everybody has a mobile, rather than having to visit the doctor several times per month. You know: logistics, weather. It's improving risks. When the lady can stay at home, I know she has to go through the process and a certain amount of visits with the doctor, but as mentioned, you can do this at home. It lowers your stress and helps you go through the whole pregnancy.

Pavlina Walter: Okay. So you think that because of the supervision of the doctor, who can always look at your real-time data, that will be one of the points that will help the lady achieve the compliance to complete the application for 20 weeks. The motivation will not be decreased because it might be tiring with time as the delivery is coming. So you still think that due to lowering the stress and full supervision, this is the great benefit for the pregnant woman.

Miloš Tkáčik: Yeah. For example, here in Prague it is easy, but imagine the countryside. The lady might be 50 miles from the doctor. In Africa or the US, it might be 500 miles. So, definitely, this is a very good way.

Pavlina Walter: Africa is a great point because there are a lot of women with high-risk hypertension; every second woman has hypertension, so this is a perfect target. How difficult is it for you actually to start a project or study in Africa?

Miloš Tkáčik: We visited one conference yesterday; we met a delegation from Zambia, for example, here in Prague. Definitely, we will look for a partner there. We are looking at financing because, especially in Africa, it's not easy to contract with some hospitals. Also, the motivation is to help, because these regions are quite poor sometimes. In Rwanda, for example, it's much better than in general in Africa. And if we help people have a better life there, they will be happier there than, for example, migrating to the EU. That is another motivation, maybe.

Pavlina Walter: And what is your aim the principal aim with this application in general? You mentioned that you would like to receive reimbursement from insurance companies. This is one...

Miloš Tkáčik: That is one. I will be happy if this dream comes true. As part of Principal, maybe sometime there will be some kind of successful spin-off. Especially in different countries, we will definitely look for partners to succeed.

Pavlina Walter: Excellent. Thank you for a very nice interview about this.

Miloš Tkáčik: Thank you.

Pavlina Walter: Thank you.

Miloš Tkáčik: Thank you.