The 10 Most Disruptive MedTech Innovators for April 2021 - Insights Care

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2021 VOL. 04 ISSUE-1

Most Disruptive

MedTech Innovators for 2021 CONSTANT CHANGE The importance of continuous innovation in healthcare TECH TIMELINE The evolution of MedTech devices through the ages

Jasper van Weerd | Founder and CEO

Saving Lives, One Innovation at a Time

MedTech

Transforming the Health Care System

T

echnology has proliferated practically within every industry and the medical field is no exception.

There are continuous innovations and evolutions in technology. No industry today can shy away from digitalisation.

The medical field is also undergoing a major change wherein implementation and integration of technology are being brought about at the drop of a hat. Medical technology, more popularly known as MedTech, has been dominating the health space since quite some time. The pandemic has only emphasised the need for MedTech companies, their services, and products.

The seismic exploration of the medical field into the deep seas of technology has made things easy and services efficient. From healthcare services to devices, usage of information technology, oximeters to nebulizers, artificial intelligence to robotics and beyond, medical technology has come a long way since the days of X-ray machines and laparoscopy.

Electronic health records, nano technology, medical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, 3D printing, voice and face recognition, AI – big data analytics, medical imaging, screening surgery, echocardiography, the list of MedTech services is endless.

MedTech has helped in boosting general health, preventing diseases, diagnosis, medication, monitoring care and selfmonitoring by patients. Application of knowledge and skills in health-related gadgets to solve health related issues is the foundation of MedTech field.

Those who have navigated the ever-evolving MedTech world have brought about a paradigm shift in the medical

field and have not just survived but thrived. Only those who have adopted to the changing times have flourished.

The widespread adoption of digital health care has prompted many enterprising minds to bring about innovations in the field. Survival or even thriving is possible if one comes out of the traditional brick and mortar operations and adapt to the demands of the time to gain a competitive edge.

To stay afloat one needs to embrace disruption. But to be a leader, one needs to innovate. Some have gone a step ahead in this sector by innovating devices and services that we would not have imagined decades ago.

Take for instance orthotic devices, robotics for mobility or assistive technologies and usage of artificial intelligence that have captured the MedTech markets too soon for anyone to imagine. Yet, creating a market where none existed is no child’s play.

The year 2020 saw a humongous alteration in the way the world functioned, and health has been the only focus.

MedTech has come to the rescue in a gigantic way and is still evolving.

Acknowledging the contributions of such innovators we handpicked some unique ones for our latest edition of Insights Care – The 10 Most Disruptive MedTech Innovators for 2021. We have attempted to throw light on their unique innovations for the benefit of mankind. Read on to know more.

Sumita Sarkar

Editor’s Note

Abilitech Medical

ABLE Human Motion

Aidence

Empowering Patients through the Power of Technology

Making Freedom of Mobility Accessible and Affordable

Incorporating Human Sense in Artificial Intelligence

Constant Change

ARTICLES

The importance of continuous innovation in healthcare

Expert Opinion How to Translate Data into Revenue Growth

Tech Timeline The evolution of MedTech devices through the ages

CXO

Transforming Future of Cardiology with Promethean Technology

COVER STORY

Saving Lives, One Innovation at a Time

CONTENTS

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Editor-in-Chief Senior Editor

Sumita Sarkar Anish Miller

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Abhishaj Sajeev

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Kelli, Bill, Anna

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Jacob Smile Pratiksha Patil David, Robert

Digital Marketing Manager Assistant Digital Marketing Manager SME-SMO Executives

Alina Sege Amol Wadekar Atul, Gemson

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Eric Smith Tanaji

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MOST DISRUPTIVE

MedTech

INNOVATORS FOR 2021

Company Name

Featuring

Description

Abilitech Medical abilitechmedical.com

Angie Zavoral Conley President and CEO

Abilitech Medical strives to create and build innovative solutions that restore function and independence to those affected by neuromuscular conditions.

ABLE Human Motion ablehumanmotion.com

Alfons Carnicero Co-founder and CEO

ABLE Human Motion is a Barcelona-based start-up developing robotic exoskeletons to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities.

Aidence aidence.com

Jeroen van Duffelen Cofounder and CBO

Aidence provides intelligent software that empowers healthcare and pharmaceutical professionals to deliver faster, more precise diagnostics and treatments.

Ariane Medical Systems Ltd arianemedicalsystems.com

Keith Spanswick Executive Chairman

Ariane Medical Systems specialises in equipment for treating cancers using low energy photons (X Rays).

Cority cority.com

Mark Wallace President and CEO

Cority is the global enterprise EHS software provider that empowers those who transform the way the world works.

Creavo creavomedtech.com

Steve Parker CEO

Creavo Medical Technologies Ltd is a UK-based, privately held medical technology company that is developing innovative diagnostic techniques for use in acute medical settings.

Cytosorbents Corporation cytosorbents.com

Phillip P. Chan CEO

CytoSorbents Corporation is a leader in critical care immunotherapy, specializing in blood purification.

LipoCoat lipocoat.com

Jasper van Weerd Founder and Managing Director

LipoCoat is on a mission is to improve the performance, comfort and safety of medical devices by using LipoCoat coatings.

Mecuris GmBH mecuris.com

Peter Fröhlingsdorf CEO

Mercuris' goal is to offer medical professionals and certified prosthetist orthotists (CPO) the possibility to create individual orthoses online in a cost- and time-saving way.

V2U healthcare v2uhealth.com

DineshVerma Founder and Manging Director

V2U Healthcare is a leading Singapore Based Company with the goal to be a leading rehabilitation medicine, healthcare & wellness industry solution provider in Singapore and Asia.

C O V E R S T O R Y

Saving Lives, One Innovation at a Time

P

rogress demands innovation – there is no scope of denying the verity of this statement. In pertinence to this progress in the discipline of healthcare, innovation is deemed as a non-negligible necessity, universally.

Modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Blockchain, Robotics, IoT, so on and so forth, have evidently played catalysts in the innovation of medical equipment, healthcare solutions, and transformative products. And organizations across the world have acknowledged and leveraged these technologies efficiently and have also enabled healthcare staff and patients to benefit from the same.

One prominent company that has contributed substantially towards the progress of the healthcare industry, is LipoCoat®, a life science spin-off from the renowned MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Twente, the Netherlands.

LipoCoat’s mission is to create solutions for improved patient comfort, safety, and infection control. The company’s innovation is a bio-inspired coating technology that prevents biofilm formation to reduce healthcare associated infections (HAI).

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LipoCoat’s bio-inspired coating technology prevents biofilm formation to reduce healthcare associated infections.

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Jasper van Weerd | Founder and CEO

The 10 Most Disruptive MedTech Innovators for 2021 The team at LipoCoat® states that around 6 percent of HAI cases result in death. According to a GE whitepaper, every year in the USA alone, HAIs affect about 1.7 million people at a cost of more than US$35 billion. HAIs are responsible for prolonging hospital stays by approximately 16 million days and causing nearly 100,000 deaths annually.

The team also believes that the situation is similar in the EU, where over 4 million patients acquire an HAI annually, contributing to roughly 110,000 deaths as well as significant costs to health systems. The direct costs were estimated by the World Health Organization to total at least €7 billion per year.

Considered as an innovative preventive measure, the LipoCoat® coatings enable sustainable infection control – no antibiotics, no toxic compounds, no side effects. These coatings are based on self-assembly nanotechnology and are anti-fouling, bio-compatible, hydrophilic, cost-efficient, and scalable. They have a wide range of applications including, medical devices, R&D tools, in vitro diagnostics (IVDs), food, and pharma.

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Value-based healthcare—focusing on treatment outcomes—and the use of preventative innovations must take up a more prominent position.

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Redefining Expertise LipoCoat’s ceaseless journey towards eminence is helmed by Jasper van Weerd, the Founder and CEO. Jasper holds an MSc degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Twente, the Netherlands.

While a PhD student in Supramolecular Chemistry at the same university, he invented the unique bioinspired LipoCoat® coatings.

Jasper was a visiting researcher at PennState University (USA), Politechnico Milano (Italy) and Utrecht University (the Netherlands). He is the author of 11 peer reviewed publications and the inventor of 3

When asked for his opinion on how the adaptation of modern technology in the healthcare discipline has transformed the industry, Jasper says, “An effective healthcare system is one of the critical requirements of a successful society. In the past decades, healthcare innovations have contributed to a more effective healthcare system by enabling new therapies and offering new diagnostic opportunities. These developments offer new levels of patient well-being but have also tremendously increased healthcare costs. Moving forward, value-based healthcare—focusing on treatment outcomes—and the use of preventative innovations must take up a more prominent position.”

“Nowadays, technology development is happening at a pace that was

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patents. In 2016, he founded LipoCoat to make his invention available for the general public.

Moving towards a more universal regulatory process will help to convert promising technologies into widely accessible healthcare innovation.

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LipoCoat® envisions building its revenue streams, increasing its development and production capacity, and expanding its international footprint by gaining access to USA and Asian markets.

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previously unheard of. This is great news for healthcare innovation.

However, to make full use of this innovation potential, regulatory processes must remain in alignment and offer swift, transparent, predicable, and reliable approval. Moving towards a more universal regulatory process will help to convert promising technologies into widely accessible healthcare innovation,” he adds.

Tackling Adversities Talking about how the pandemic and the entailing restrictions on business operations impacted the company, the team at LipoCoat® says, “The COVID19 pandemic forced us to change various aspects of our lives.”

At LipoCoat®, employee safety and well-being are of utmost importance.

Being a biotech company R&D is its key activity. At the beginning of the pandemic, the company implemented various employee safeguards to ensure lab work could be performed safely – in accordance with governmental regulations.

“Social distancing, use of hand disinfectants, monitoring temperature, rapid testing and other corona protocols have become our new normal,” says the team. One of the important developments at LipoCoat®

has been the transition to working from home when possible and an increased awareness of how new working routines (such as online meetings) can be part of an efficient and modern organization.

In Foresight The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of scientific progress regarding infection control. LipoCoat® is currently involved in development programs with healthcare corporates that want to increase the safety of their medical devices. The company has seen a very promising reduction in bacterial adhesion on contact lenses and catheters.

LipoCoat® is aiming to launch LipoCoat-enabled contact lenses in

2021 and in a few years’ time, it expects its first coated catheters to enter the market. In addition, other use cases are actively explored in LipoCoat’s discovery programs, including R&D tools, cell culture systems, cosmetic, and therapeutic applications.

LipoCoat® has secured a €1.5 million investment round in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. To make the leap to further growth, a funding round of €5 million is planned for mid-2021.

With this investment round, LipoCoat® envisions building its revenue streams, increasing its development and production capacity, and expanding its international footprint by gaining access to USA and Asian markets, in the coming years.

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Abilitech Medical Empowering Patients through the Power of Technology

W

hen it comes to responding to the outer and inner senses, the central nervous system plays an important role. Our nervous system is responsible for communication between all the parts of the body. It helps us respond to changes outside and inside our body.

However, with an unfortunate breakdown of the nervous system due to a fatal accident or medical condition, one can losesensation or ability to respondforcing the individual to entirely depend on caregivers.

While many of us show compassion towards individuals with neurological disorders, Angie Conley,theFounder and CEO, took an ambitious step ahead to help these individuals intensify their physical and social independence through assistive technology devices through her company,Abilitech Medical.

Throughits feasible and comfortable innovative solutions, along with fully roboticsupport, Abilitech has effectively integrated healthcare with technology, working progressively to eliminate everyday challenges for individuals suffering from neurological disorders making their lives more selfreliant and individualized.

In the following interview, Angie shares her inspiration behind incepting Abilitech Medical and her views on how modern technology is transforming the healthcare industry.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Please brief our audience about your company, its values, vision, and mission.

Abilitech Medical brings innovative solutions to the market that allow people living with upper-limb neuromuscular conditions to function independently. The company's first product, the Abilitech™ Assist, is a one-of-a-kind, powered orthotic device providing functional assistance and support to both the elbow and the shoulder, to improve the lives of people in the U.S. affected by neuromuscular weakness.

By solving this overlooked healthcare challenge, Abilitechis changing several lives, from helping people to feed themselves, brush their teeth, and perform many independent tasksand activities that were not possible before the introduction of the Assist, in 2020.

Approximately 75,000 patients in the U.S. with muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,

14 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

spinal cord injury, and eventually people who have suffered a stroke will benefit from the Assist device.

If you are disabled in your lower body, there is a wheelchair for mobility; if you lose a limb, there are prosthetic solutionsthat can help you live independently. But if you have weak arms and cannot feed yourself then in this situation one has to depend on their families and caregivers.

Othersrequire an assisted living facility so that they can be helped witheveryday tasks — activities most people take for granted.

The Abilitech™ Assist facilitates independent control of the arms by supporting and assisting both the shoulder and elbow for people with minimal strength. Software customizes the spring tension to lift objects such as a fork, phone, or water bottle, supporting items that weigh up to 12 ounces.

Abilitech assistive devices are designed to bring life-changing benefits to people with arm weakness, including increasing physical independence and social independence because the devices increase the ability for the patient to engage with others

The 10 Most Disruptive MedTech Innovators for 2021

more fully, may have some economic savings, as a result, ofdecreased reliance on caregivers and avoiding or delaying the cost of a skilled nursing home.

Personal care assistants cost an average of $28,000 per year and assisted living costs can be up to $250,000 per year.

In some cases, people using the Assist may even be able to return to work or stay in the workforce longer.

The Assist is the first in Abilitech's future suite of products, which includes a powered handgrip device and a fully robotic voice-controlled arm-hand combination assistive device.

Direct patient experience has led to optimal comfort, style, and weight of the device. Abilitech is conducting Muscular Dystrophy clinical trials for the Assist at the University of Minnesota and Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare.

What makes your company a preferred choice over your competitors?

The Abilitech Assist is the only bodyworn assistive technology device that empowers a movement of both the shoulder and the elbow. The hybrid technology uses springs, motors, and software to optimize the support needed for everyone without overriding their existing function.

Each patient can dynamically adjust their profile with the touch of a button to support them in lifting objects of varying weights. The Abilitech Assist

is lightweight, comfortable, and easy to use.

Being an experienced leader in the healthcare sector, share with us your opinion on how the adaptation of modern technology in the healthcare discipline has transformed the industry and what more could be expected in the near future?

Assistive technology is a booming category for the med device industry.

There have been many recent breakthroughs by assistive devices, including the Abilitech™ Assist. The largest focus has been focused on powering the legs or working on brain interface technology, which is invasive, expensive, and not accessible for several years. Abilitech is focused on the upper body and works with existing function, as opposed to fully robotic support, which would override patient strength and weaken the arms. The 15 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

Angie Conley founder and CEO

“

The Abilitech™ Assist facilitates independent control of the arms by supporting and assisting both the shoulder and elbow for people with minimal strength.

“

Clinical pilot studies are planned to study stroke rehabilitation at Houston Methodist, and Cerebral Palsy at Texas Children's Hospital. Other partner organizations include HealthPartners and Allina Health Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute.

Assist device has been called “the wheelchair” for the arms and “power steering for the arms” by Abilitech patients and their caregivers. Abilitech has plans for more breakthroughs for the upper body, including assistive devices to support hand function.The Abilitech team expectsthere to be a continued transformation in assistive technology applications.

Taking into consideration the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your organization to sustain operations and ensuring the safety of your employees at the same time?

Abilitech isproviding online telehealth assessments to people in the safety of their own homes, allowing consultation with the company's clinical advisory team. An added benefit to providing online assessment vs. only inperson appointments is that Abilitech can reach people throughout the U.S. more efficiently. The virtual assessment is efficient and saves time for both parties, allowing the Abilitech team to work with the patients, payers, and clinicians to begin the process of securing a device and helping find a solution faster.

Abilitechreimbursement consultants can also effectively interface with patients online.Abilitech's technology platform allows the team to work from home efficiently, limiting the need to travel to and work inside its Eden Prairie offices. Abilitech's clinical partners and sales team are located throughout the U.S., so working remotely comes naturally for the company and is effective for the business.

How do you plan to scale your company and/or its operations in 2021?

With the recent FDA listing of the Assist, Abilitech is focused on working with patient advocacy groups, patient recruitment through social media marketing, and partnerships with leading institutions to increase awareness of assistive technology as a solution to increase independence. The company is alsogrowing by adding leaders to its team with deep experience in these disease states and bringing medical devices successfully to market.

nonprofit that created a 3D printed exoskeleton to help children affected by arthrogryposis, an orphan medical condition, use their arms.

Angie still recalls, during that time, the look of delight on one child's face as he moved his arm, on his own, for the very first time. His parents were similarly awestruck. It was such a moving experience for Angie that drove her to solve the problem that thousands of Americans must deal with every day.

During her tenure at Magic Arms, Angie received many emails and voicemails asking if the organization's device could help them or someone, they love who has. MD, ALS, or SCI. But Magic Arms was focused on pediatric orphan conditions and had a very limited budget. It simply did not have the resources to develop a new technology to help adults and scale the technology to meet the needs of many people and evolved into a medical device company.

Eventually, Angie realized that her background in MedTech at Medtronic, coupled with her experience at Magic Arms, could be leveraged to start a new company focused on transforming lives: Abilitech Medical.

In 2016, Abilitech raised $2.3 million to form a world-class team focused on solving the problem of restoring basic functional abilities to people with severely limited upperlimb strength. Abilitech is focused on the needs of a market estimated at more than $2 billion.

To date, Angie and her team have raised more than $10 million, used for the development of the Assist, obtaining FDA registration (which was accomplished in 2020), completing additional clinical studies, and providing for commercial expansion in the U.S.

About the leader Angie Conley is the Founder and CEO of Abilitech Medical. Angie's inspiration for Abilitech traces back to her previous role as executive director at Magic Arms, a

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The importance of continuous

innovation

healthcare in

H

istory repeats itself,' they say, life is a complete cycle, and we tend to repeat certain aspects in a new light. Take the healthcare innovation for example, which experiences disruptive evolution every fifty years. During the 1870s, antiseptic techniques, germ theory of disease, and advanced use of anesthesia brought significant advantages in public health.

In 1928, the discovery of penicillin dramatically accelerated the use of medication to treat diseases. The randomized controlled trials were treated as the gold standard for evidence in the 1940s pioneering the healthcare we know today.

Healthcare innovation in 21st century So, what does healthcare innovation mean for us in the 21st century? Comprehensively, innovation represents implementing new or improved products, services, or processes. However, healthcare innovation today also involves improved methods of service delivery, organizational models, and marketing approach to access and adopt better ways of relating to the customer.

But how far we are in this 21st innovation cycle? Now, with the technological advancement and its usage in healthcare,

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Constant Change

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we are marching towards the next healthcare revolution.

With the healthcare institutes facing challenges to improve access, quality, efficiency, reduce harm and medical waste, healthcare innovation is again in focus. It's safe to say that the current COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the cycle and brought us on the brink.

Here are the reasons why the world needs healthcare innovation.

Faster implementation of treatments The healthcare industry has been difficult for innovation at times due to certain challenges, one of them being the slower process of making newer drugs available for public usage. One of the studies conducted by research firm PhRMA stated that it takes over 10 years for a new drug to be made available for public usage. 60-70% of this time is invested in clinical trials while the remainder is taken up by the outdated regulatory system.

You would say COVID-19 vaccines have been brought into use within a year. But we have to see the fact that COVID-19 infection has been declared a pandemic and not every research process sees a similar speed of development and focus from the regulatory authorities.

However, many research institutes and organizations involved in different studies have shown the accurate acceleration of clinical trials using AI technology to analyze massive amounts of data. Furthermore, with the use of cloud platforms, many on-paper regulatory processes can be digitized to speed up the implementation of newer medications and treatments for public health.

Improved healthcare access Healthcare systems work differently across different countries and access to healthcare is often tied to the economic status which makes it difficult to connect people with care especially in rural areas.

The report on the same by CDC stated that over 23% of near-poor adults and 26% of adults in the poor category in the US aged between 18-64 don't have access to health insurance.

revolutions in healthcare have given rise to many such promising options one of them being telehealth.

Using teleconferencing and other digital technologies many organizations have made access to primary-care physicians possible for underprivileged populations. Several disruptive boutique clinics are also coming forward to aid commonly uninsured groups by offering them certain healthcare services on a subscription-based model.

Improving healthcare as a business While the research developments and policy changes often make the news headlines what hasn't been in equal focus is the difficulty professionals face to enter and survive the healthcare industry.

Innovative entrepreneurs with ideas to improve the state of the healthcare system find it tough to bring their solutions to market often due to high insurance costs and strict regulations. Another aspect for companies supporting the healthcare sector is technological advancement and capital management.

Healthcare companies whether publicly or privately managed must have enough capital and spend wisely in technological adaption to prevent errors and minimize the cost to provide care to as many patients as possible.

Accessible healthcare: A shared responsibility With the threat of unknowns such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and public health at stake, there remains no excuse for complacency in the healthcare sector and related fields. Moreover, as healthcare professionals together with governments and regulatory authorities are constantly working on improving healthcare, we all share this responsibility to accept and further drive positive change.

And these fruitful efforts of unity and positivity will certainly show the results by achieving the much-awaited change in the healthcare industry –faster results, stronger market, and better care.

– Vrushali R.

While many people argue that most healthcare policies need to be changed, certain things could be done outside the policy to resolve some of these issues. Numerous digital

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ABLE Human Motion Making Freedom of Mobility Accessible and Affordable “

O

ur freedom can be measured by the number of things we can walk away from.”Vernon Howard, an American author, philosopher, and spiritual teacher said it rightly. But what about those people who can't walk away from the toxicicity in their lives? And what about those people who can't walk without support?

Enabling people to move on their own is crucial to unleashing full human potential. However, 0.1 billion people worldwide need a wheelchair to move around. Paralyzed individuals could walk again by using a robotic exoskeleton. However, due to their high access price (120k€) and high weight (25 kg), exoskeletons are only found in large hospitals.

Alfons Carnicero, CEO and Co-founder was moved by these people's pain and made it a clear mission of enabling mobility to everyone by co-founding ABLE Human Motion.“We create lightweight and affordable exoskeleton technology to empower every person in a wheelchair, by providing better mobility and greater independence,” says Alfons.

He further explained the company's core values that have helped ABLE Human Motion to strongly march to achieving its mission. Ÿ Accessibility. Mobility is a

fundamental part of living in society autonomously and freely, engaging in daily activities. Ÿ Innovation: Cutting-edge technology backed by research through the company's collaboration with the UPC Biomechanical Engineering Lab. Ÿ User-centered: Solutions at the service of people. Ÿ Inclusiveness: Being different by focusing on people and their issues.

Accessibility at its core Right after its inception, the company took the first step towards its mission by launching ABLE Exoskeleton.

According to the company, it is the first lightweight, easy-to-use, and affordable robotic exoskeleton that allows paraplegic individuals to stand up and walk again on their own. The system incorporates the most advanced robotics and motion control techniques, together with Machine Learning algorithms to optimize the gait patterns.

There are similar competitive devices in the market that focus on targeting all lower-limb mobility impairments with a single device (one-size-fits-all approach). This results in very expensive (from €60k to €150k), heavy (from 14 to 25kg), and complex devices that can only be afforded by large clinical institutions.

Explaining how ABLE Human Motion 22 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

gained an edge over the established brands in this niche, Alfons says, “At ABLE, we are trying to disrupt the exoskeleton market from the bottom up, focusing on the design of exoskeletons for specific pathologies, resulting in user-centered solutions withlightness, adaptation to their motor capabilities, continuum of care from the hospital to home, and cost-effectiveness.”

This approach, together with years of research at UPC and key partnerships, has led to the ABLE Exoskeleton: the first lightweight, intuitive, and affordable robotic exoskeleton that allows paraplegic individuals to stand up and walk autonomously.

Alfons believes that the compact and lightweight design of the company's exoskeleton, along with the significant cost reduction, will drive a much faster penetration in the domestic market.

Avisionary As a healthcare entrepreneur Alfons has participated in several acceleration programs including CRAASH Barcelona, Toyota Startup Accelerator, and CaixaImpulse. He also completed various business and management courses at renowned universities such as Cambridge Judge Business School, EADA, and ISDI. He holds a Master's in Industrial and Biomedical Engineering from the UniversitatPolitècnica de Catalunya

The 10 Most Disruptive MedTech Innovators for 2021 (UPC) and has proven skills in fundraising, leadership, and Medtech go-to-market.

His work in the areas of product development, clinical evaluation, and manufacturing at Implantcast (German medical device manufacturer of joint implants) and Institut Guttmann (neurorehabilitation hospital)helped him hone his skills and gain crucial experience in the Medtech market.

Taking further this rich experience and expertise, in October 2018, Alfons co-founded ABLE Human Motion, a Barcelona-based start-up developing medical robotic exoskeletons. Within a couple of years, ABLE Human Motion has secured 2.3M€ from private investors and public funds, growing the team from 3 to 12 people.

An innovative step towards future New technologies have transformed our society and our lives and have a massive impact and the adaptation rate in the healthcare industry. The unprecedented speed at which the COVID-19 vaccine has been developed was possible due to the years of previous research, worldwide collaboration, faster manufacturing methods, and enormous investments.

As for the current healthcare innovation, many of these are digitally enabled and driven by advancements in robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), new manufacturing methods, data analytics, and virtual reality.

Robotics and especially exoskeleton technology is set to bring a tremendous impact on global health, by increasing the mobility and independence of neurologic patients and the elderly population while reducing the likelihood of accidents and falls.

However, not all it's good news here, as the pandemic has caused millions of deaths around the world and triggered one of the largest economic crisis exposing the vulnerabilities of current healthcare systems and supply chains and the worst inequalities between continents and countries.“Now, while we recover from this crisis,” says Alfons, “As a society, we should prioritize health and research to promote well-being and prosperity in the years to come.”

The flexibility of work during the lockdown 23 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

Alfons Carnicero CEO and Co-Founder

“

At ABLE, we are trying to disrupt the exoskeleton market from the bottom up, focusing on the design of exoskeletons for specific pathologies, resulting in usercentered solutions.

“

The team has successfully developed the first affordable, lightweight, and intuitive exoskeleton for paraplegic individuals, which is currently under clinical trials in Germany and Spain.

The company is positioned among the most promising medical device start-ups in Europe, winning the Best European Robotics Startup in 2020 and the Toyota Startup Awards 'Mobility for All' competition.

quarantine, which delayed the manufacturing of some parts. This forced us to strengthen our internal operations and our relations with suppliers.”Other affectations of the pandemic were that several test patients were cancelled and that patient recruitment in the clinical trials in Germany and Spain was slower than expected.

COVID-19 has impacted the whole world in more ways than one. While the healthcare industry has been struggling to operate on limited resources the pandemic also impacted the activities within the supporting niches in the healthcare industry.

Alfons shared how the company managed its operations during the series of lockdowns.

“ABLE project was affected to some extent, but we have managed to minimize its impact to avoid deviations from the initial planning,” he said.

He further added, “Some of the challenges we had to face were that some suppliers closed during the

During the lockdown, the entire staff of ABLE Human Motion was teleworking, which was a challenge for a hardware company with equipment needs. To deal with this challenge the company distributed exoskeleton parts among the team members and set up small domestic workshops.

Later the company adopted the flexible working methodology, where everyday employees could decide if they want to return to the office or continue working from home.Alfons further added the company's new way of managing operations during the pandemic. “We hold meetings combining virtual and physical attendance, we have promoted the use of software project management tools and we maintain frequent communication,”he says.

Alfons also shared how the team's efficiency in these exceptional times, without the need of taking any drastic measures such as ERTEs or staff reductionshas led the ABLE Human 24 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

Motion to grow further with 30% growth in the team size.

A commercialized approach Post the pandemic now thatthe global economy has started reviving from the COVID crisis, 2021 seems to be the crucial year. During this year ABLE project will be finalizing the clinical trials carrying out in leading neurorehabilitation hospitals in Germany (Heidelberg University Hospital) and Spain (Institut Guttmann and Asepeyo Barcelona) with 40 spinal cord injured patients, to demonstrate the safety and usability of the exoskeleton in a clinical environment.

With this clinical data, the company aims to slightly modify the design to improve the exoskeleton based on the clinical feedback, to later start the CE certification process. Post this, ABLE Human Motion will ambitiously move towards its mission of enabling mobility by starting product commercialization in Europe at the end of 2022.

Alfons further talked about the company's goals. “We also have other products in our pipeline, as a disruptive and ultra-light exoskeleton for hemiplegic gait after stroke: a powered ankle joint that assists with adaptive algorithms that collaborate with the remaining muscular function and promote the process of

Accounting Brilliance “ABLE Human Motion is a great example of leveraging technology in an innovative way to solve an important unmet need that will make a significant difference in people's lives today! They restore the power of walking for those suffering from spinal cord injury, creating a significant lifestyle and health benefits. I had the opportunity to work closely with the dynamic team driving this company forward as part of the 2019 CRAASH Barcelona program – an intense 12-week program for teams to engage stakeholders to develop and validate a value proposition and go-to-market plan with industry veterans.

The team made the most of this and every opportunity they have made happen and have been on an accelerated trajectory to reaching the market ever since!

ABLE team's addresses a very important unmet need, having validated their users, economic buyers, value proposition and business model.”

– John Collins, Ph.D., COO at Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation & Technology (CIMIT, Boston).

“I commend the team at Able on focusing their work on developing a low-cost exoskeleton system. I believe that several individuals with mobility-limiting conditions - such as spinal cord injury - would tremendously benefit from a low-cost exoskeleton system of the type developed by ABLE. Developing lowcost exoskeleton technology without sacrificing quality is a challenge that the engineers at ABLE appear to have handled excellently.”

– Paolo Bonato, Ph.D., Dir. of the Motion Analysis Lab. at Spaulding Rehab. Hospital (Boston, USA) and Prof. at Harvard Medical School and Wyss Institute.

“I have tried 3 exoskeletons and only with ABLE I feel like being in control of my walking again.”– Ivan Camps, individual with spinal cord injury.

“ABLE plays by the typical disruption playbook: entering the market with a radically lower cost solution by reducing features, focusing on a smaller, yet still sizeable niche market, with a different business model and with possibilities to extend from there to become a dominant player in the global arena in medical exoskeletons. ABLE enters the market with a lower-cost solution, with possibilities to become a dominant player in the global industry of exoskeletons.”

– Bart Huisken, MBA, Serial Entrepreneur “ABLE is one of the top health tech projects in Barcelona. A young but highperformance team with enthusiasm to develop a new approach to exoskeletons. They will be really good to deliver new technologies to solve a serious health problem.”

– Pau Corbera, President at Advero Properties Socimi

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neuroplasticity during rehabilitation.”

With stroke being the first cause of movement disability in the US and Europe (1 in 6 people will have a stroke in their lifetime), Alfons believes that this device will be a game-changer, situated in a unique position to set a new standard for the post-stroke rehabilitation. ABLE Human Motion is working on the said device to enter the European market in 2024, after obtaining the CE-mark approval.

While sharing the company's diligent goals Alfons also expressed gratitude towards the team's efforts and collaborations with expert advisors.

“We are scaling our company by understanding very well our needs at each phase and maximizing the resources available,” he says, He further adds, “The help of worldclass advisors that have been serial entrepreneurs and have many years of experience commercializing healthcare products has been critical. Working with industry leaders like Institut Guttmann or Heidelberg University Hospital and having the support of best-in-class organizations like EIT Health (European Institute of Innovation & Technology), the European Commission, Bank Sabadell or La Caixa Foundation is also a key driver to move forward.”

M

ost health system executives will agree there's no shortage of data in the healthcare industry.

The problem is knowing what to do with it. In just three years from 2016 to 2019, healthcare organizations saw the volume of health data increase by 878%. Despite the abundance of data, bridging information silos and extracting useful insights that improve patient workflows remains a challenge.

Advanced data analytics and greater connectivity present opportunities for health systems to automate processes, minimize revenue leakage and create a better patient financial experience.

In the wake of COVID-19, the health systems that act on these opportunities will gain a head start on their financial recovery from the pandemic, so this begs the question: what's holding the revenue cycle back from translating data into meaningful insights for better decision making?

What are the hurdles?

Healthcare organizations spend multi-millions of dollars on clinical and financial IT systems each year. Yet, those systems often create a disjointed experience for patients and revenue cycle teams because they aren't truly integrated and therefore, the data remains in silos.

Today, it's common for large health systems to have multiple electronic health record (EHR) systems, along with separate systems for scheduling patients, generating price estimates, checking a patient's insurance eligibility, offering affordable payment plans and more. Essentially, every touchpoint is often powered by a different software product with its own data silo.

Also, many healthcare IT companies have merged and therefore "bolted together" solutions via acquisitions to create their product offerings. For example, conventional patient payment companies typically "bolt together" portals and billing statements that only minimally connect to the underlying payment technologies.

As a result, there's rarely a single source of truth for patient financial activity. This can lead to discrepancies in what the patient sees on their bank statement and what the revenue cycle team sees. As a result, it's difficult for revenue cycle teams to work with patients and address their financial needs while ensuring the health system gets paid for the services provided. Even worse, the breakdown in information does irreparable harm to the trust between the patient and the health system.

What needs to change?

To make data more reliable and actionable, revenue cycle teams need an integrated payment platform that connects data from various sources and creates a truly patient-centric experience.

An integrated payments platform acts as an information hub between different IT systems, including the EHR, estimator tools, insurance information, and more. Think about it this way – before smartphones, you left your house with your wallet and keys, plus you had a map, GPS (miss you, Garmin), notebook with a list, or written directions to your destination.

Today, you just carry your smartphone, which provides directions, contact information, lists, and even your credit card information for contactless payments. An integrated payments solution consolidates information the same way

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Expert Opinion

your smartphone consolidates your personal items. Patients can view their up-to-date bill balance, review a price estimate or their payment history, sign up for payment options that match their personal financial needs, message their provider and more – all from one place.

By leveraging an integrated payment platform that consolidates data from multiple enterprise systems, healthcare organizations make it easier for their patients to understand, manage and pay for healthcare expenses. This data creates the foundation for a personalized and adaptive experience that empowers patients to confidently navigate the financial responsibilities associated with their care while improving revenue cycle outcomes for health systems.

Why act now?

Healthcare billing and payment experiences continue to be leading sources of frustration for patients.

According to Patientco’s 2020 State of the Patient Financial Experience survey, when paying healthcare bills, four out of five patients have felt confused or frustrated. Patients have felt confused and frustrated for various reasons, from the lack of upfront pricing before treatment to receiving multiple bills after one visit. Meanwhile, over one-third of patients have been frustrated because it was difficult to understand what their insurer covered.

Patients are also concerned about the cost of their care. In fact,

About the Author Sean Joyce is Patientco's chief technology officer (CTO) and is responsible for the ongoing product, engineering, and innovation initiatives for Patientco's patient financial engagement platform.

For over 15 years, Sean has focused his career on enhancing the consumer healthcare journey across all stages of engagement with a health system.

Prior to Patientco, Sean launched the first advisory software for small businesses navigating the Affordable Care Act as a product leader within ADP's TotalSource business. Earlier in his career, Sean built software at startups that pursued his passion for detangling the complexities of healthcare through technology.

Sean received his B.S. in Computer Science from Eastern Michigan University and his MBA from Emory University.

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patients often defer necessary medical care over financial concerns – 45% have delayed medical care or skipped it altogether over concerns about their out-of-pocket costs.

While such concerns about healthcare expenses are not new, the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recession that followed has amplified them.

added burden on the health system's team members.

Many of the frustrations felt by patients are actually the result of point solutions that health systems rely upon for various revenue cycle processes such as scheduling, cost estimates, and eligibility. With so many siloed systems, patients don't know which source of information to trust.

Patients get overwhelmed trying to figure out the nuances of why they owe what they owe and make sense of their financial obligations. Ultimately, they become disconnected from the health system and patient loyalty is compromised.

With a payment platform that consolidates data across different systems, healthcare organizations can personalize each patient's financial care in a scalable way. At the same time, this makes data actionable and enables revenue cycle team members to better assist patients navigate their financial options.

Meanwhile, for busy RCM teams, responding to confused patients who have questions about their financial responsibilities can seem daunting, manual, and timeconsuming. Health systems employ hundreds of team members to handle high volumes of manual tasks, such as answering patient phone calls, responding to email and patient portal messages, accepting, and posting payments and more.

As a result, when patient visit volumes grow, so does the workload for these team members. There is an opportunity for technology to streamline these tasks, so team members can focus on other efforts and enable the health system to care for more patients without significantly increasing operational costs. Realizing this opportunity is key, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic as many health systems will have a backlog of elective procedures to reschedule.

Technologies, such as chatbots with natural language processing and personalized self-service payment options can empower health systems and their team members to focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks.

For instance, if a patient is anxious about the cost of their care and has a question about their price estimate, the patient can easily be guided by the chatbot to a personalized view of the cost information they need including easy instructions on enrolling in an affordable payment plan and links to self-service scheduling. This all takes place with no

However, these technologies require an integrated payments platform and advanced data analytics.

What Does Success Look Like?

Health systems can leverage data including a patient's preferred communication, such as email or text, along with other data, like bill balance amount and prior payment history to tailor outreach and payment options to each patient. For example, health systems can encourage a patient who has a large bill balance to sign up for a payment plan with messaging on their bill and influence a patient with a smaller balance to pay in full with a prompt payment discount.

Data that's consolidated and actionable allows health systems to predict the best ways to drive patient engagement, proactively meet patients' preferences and give patients an easy way to manage their current and future expenses with tailored, self-service affordable payment options. This also empowers team members to offer better support when patients need assistance most.

Collectively, by doing this for all patients in a health system, health systems use what traditionally was transactional data to outline a better, more tailored financial experience that delivers meaningful financial results for their organization.

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Incorporating Human Sense in Artificial Intelligence

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edical technologies save lives, improve health, and contribute towards sustainable healthcare. The most disruptive med-tech innovators deliver excellent services to patients, healthcare professionals, healthcare systems, and the society at large. These innovators also drive economic growth and job creation.

One such prominent torchbearer in the field of med-tech innovation is Aidence. Situated at Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the company has made major strides in the medical imaging industry with its AI solution.

The person spearheading the company is Mark-Jan Harte, the Co-Founder and CEO. After completing a master's degree in Computer Science, he occupied various roles in finance, consumer software, and machine learning consultancy. Founding multiple companies in the technology sector, Mr. Mark developed a deep interest in AI and started seeing the opportunity that deep learning offered to healthcare in 2015.

There are many technology lessons that he had learned previously that can be applied to healthcare. The ability to combine that with the purpose of using AI for patient benefit is what drove Mr. Mark to establish Aidence.

In an interview with Insights Care, Mr. Mark shares the journey of Aidence, its various services, and future plans.

Below are the highlights of the interview between Mark and Insights Care.

Please brief our audience about your company, its values, vision, and mission.

I founded Aidence in November 2015 with Jeroen van Duffelen (CBO) and Tim Salimans. We are an international team of over 40+ purpose-driven data scientists, software engineers, business, medical and regulatory professionals, located in the Netherlands and the UK. We believe that data is key to improve the prevention, management, and treatment of diseases. Our mission is to provide intelligent software that

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radically improves medical diagnostics and the oncology pathway.

As a company, we focus on quality first and foremost and have a rigorous approach to clinical safety. We have a transparent culture, encouraging all stakeholders to speak openly and share ideas. And although we are in a hyped industry, we are down to earth, deliver upon commitment, and never exaggerate our capabilities.

What makes your company a preferred choice over your competitors? Tell us more about your prominent solutions and products.

Our first clinical application is Veye Chest (renamed Veye Lung Nodules with the latest version), an AI-based solution for lung nodule management.

It automates the detection, segmentation, characterization and growth assessment of pulmonary nodules, aiding radiologists in their review of chest CT-scans.

Veye Chest is currently running in

The 10 Most Disruptive MedTech Innovators for 2021

routine practice and lung cancer screening programmes across Europe, analyzing thousands of patients scans each week.

In over five years of activity, we built a credible track record of deployments in clinical practice. From closing our first commercial contracts at the end of 2019, we now see hospitals extending their collaboration with us. Our customers trust us and recognize the problem we are solving for them.

In the UK, we are the preferred AI provider in a large-scale lung cancer screening pilot across England. We have also received an award to support the National Health Service (NHS) plans to reduce lung cancer mortality.

In countries like the Netherlands, Hungary, and France we have longstanding partnerships with hospitals and renowned medical centers.

Being an experienced leader in the healthcare sector, share with us your opinion on how the adaptation of modern technology in the healthcare discipline has transformed the industry and what more could be expected in the near future?

The amount of medical data keeps growing, increasing the complexity of decision making for clinicians. AI is a powerful technology because it can 'learn' to identify patterns and nuances

in large datasets and consistently provide precise observations and measurements.

In healthcare, there is a huge opportunity to apply this power for the benefit of all. AI devices can automate the basic and tedious tasks that clinicians perform daily. This allows them to focus on complex interpretation tasks and make more data-driven and accurate follow-up decisions.

Taking into consideration the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your organization to sustain operations and ensure safety of your employees at the same time?

For the past year, I witnessed the

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Mark-Jan Harte Co-Founder and CEO

“

Our deep-learning solutions are tailored around the needs and input of clinical specialists.

“

Moreover, we are one of the first companies in our field to have been granted the CE Mark for our AI solution under the new EU Medical Device Regulation. This is a reflection of our solid risk management and postmarket surveillance processes.

strength, motivation, and flexibility of our purpose-driven team. We have sustained operations by working remotely throughout the pandemic. We also stayed connected through regular updates and virtual team 'rituals', such as group lunches and celebrations of milestones. I believe we are coming out stronger from the pandemic.

How do you plan to scale your company and/or its operations in 2021?

Aidence has raised €12.5 million to date with top tier VC funds backing. Based on our current outlook, we expect a successful series B by the end of 2021.

With new grants and investments, we will further improve Veye Chest and deploy it across Europe and soon the US (once we obtain the FDA clearance). In the short term, we will expand our suite of clinical applications with models for COVID-19 and coronary artery calcification.

Our focus is increasingly on different stages of the oncology pathway, including treatment response assessment. We thus plan to build functionalities beyond medical imaging.

Exhibiting Excellence Dr James Shambrock, Consultant Cardiothoracic Radiologist at University Hospital Southampton, on the value we add to lung cancer screening in the UK: “Scale and precision are of utmost importance for making the Lung Health Check programme a success, and we see Aidence as a valuable partner for the years to come.”

Dr Paul Algra at Northwest Clinics in the Netherlands on using Veye Chest: “Veye allows us to read scans at a high pace with the confidence of not missing anything.”

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Tech Timeline

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The evolution of

MedTech devices through the ages

T

he latest development of the COVID-19 vaccine within a year of the viral spread also the involvement of humanoid robots assisting healthcare professionals to lessen the burden and provide accurate care during the pandemic has been the new amazement for common people.

However, the MedTech field has always been evolving from the first magnifying glass developed in 1250 to the new concept of telehealth in the 21st century. Each of these evolutions has further helped the healthcare field to provide safer, efficient, and widely accessible healthcare services to patients. From the field rich of healthcare experts, innovators, and genius minds we shed some light on some of the amazing MedTech devices that have played crucial roles in transforming lives.

1979: Blood and cell separator The first automated blood and separator CS-3000 was invented in 1979. The device could draw the whole blood, store the desired part, and transfer the remaining blood back to the donor. This eliminated the risk of contamination that happens during the manual methods also enabled donors to donate blood frequently.

1980: Personal glucose meter Portable medical devices have transformed lives in a way we wouldn't have imagined. Among such devices in the personal glucose meter which was approved in 1969 and first developed by Miles Laboratories Inc. which was later purchased by Bayer.

However, it was during early 1980 that these devices started seeing remarkable improvements such as glucose meter with memory. Nowadays the technological advancement has made 35 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

personal glucose meters more liable and easily accessible for diabetics.

1983: EXCEL and PAB IV Containers Since 2002, FDA has encouraged reducing the patient exposure to Di-(2- Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and recommended replacing DEHP-plasticised PVC with safer alternatives. However, several manufactures had taken the step long before FDA's recommendations. Manufacturer B. Braun Medical had offered DEHP-free and PVC-free containers since 1983.

1987: Digital Hearing Aid Stepping ahead of the analog devices, the first digital hearing aid by Nicolet Phoenix in 1987 came with enhanced capabilities, comfort, and feature. The digital signal processing allowed manufacturers to provide better quality hearing by drastically reducing the feedback when the listener used the device.

1988: Safety syringes and needles During the decade of 1980s to 1990s more bloodborne infections were seen and experienced majorly due to needlesticks. To resolve this issue, in 1988, Becton Dickinson introduced the first safety-engineered syringe named BD Safety-Lok. Furthermore, the company launched an educative program in 2002 to spread awareness about the risk of using needlestick and helped healthcare institutes to comply with the new mandates for safety-engineered medical devices.

1999: da Vinci Surgical System The year 1999 brought another revolutionary change in the space of surgery with the da Vinci surgical system. The system offered improved precision, range of motion, and enhanced visibility. Also, the microchip technology and 3-D optics of the system enabled surgeons to perform complex procedures by making tiny incisions, which minimized pain and the risk of infection for patients.

The surgical system has been used to treat endometrial cancer, prostate cancer, heart conditions, morbid obesity, and mitral valve regurgitation.

2003: LifePort Organ Transporter Do you remember how human organs were stored and transported before? You must have seen in movies or series that the organ would be placed in a cooler filled with ice.

This was the traditional method until LifePort Organ Transporter was invented in 2003.

The device allows the use of more organs also lowering the frequency of organs discarded by using mobile machine

perfusion. Through this process, a cold solution is passed through the organ to reduce tissue damage during the transport. The product was first used to transport kidneys; however, its successful use has further popularized its use to store and transport other organs such as the heart, lung, liver, pancreas, and intestine.

2005: OxyMask You might have seen, heard, or experienced yourself the side effects of closed oxygen masks such as nose bleeding, mucosal drying, and facial sores. However, that was before 2005 when OxyMask was developed to eliminate these effects. The open oxygen system of this mask is designed to eliminate Co2 rebreathing, enabling patients to drink through a straw also allowing them to communicate with their caregivers.

2010 and ahead: Wearable devices The decade of 2010 brought the evolution of personal and wearable devices making healthcare more accessible for individuals. The rise of Big Data played a major role in fuelling the MedTech field that allowed faster analysis and treatments of public health issues.

The Health Research Institute reported that by 2015, every fifth of US consumers owned a wearable tech product such as a smart band, 70% of this population aged between 16 to 24. Mobile tech in terms of healthcare mobile apps have also risen alongside during the decade which has been revolutionary in empowering individuals with vital information also allowing them to connect with healthcare professionals and experts whenever needed.

Power of technology with a human touch At the rate at which technology is capturing just about every sector including healthcare, the human involvement to provide high-quality cordial care remains a concern.

However, if we see it from a different perspective, the MedTech evolution has opened new avenues for healthcare professionals and clinicians to connect with individuals barring the regional boundaries without physically traveling the distance. Telehealth and healthcare apps have made it possible for people to find and connect with healthcare professionals in their neighborhood also searching for expert advice on a global level.

And the evolution in the MedTech field will further enhance the power of remote consultation truly making healthcare accessible to all.

– Vrushali R.

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The 10 Most Disruptive MedTech Innovators for 2021

C R E AV O Transforming Future of Cardiology with Promethean Technology

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oday, several patients’ lives depend on the healthcare systems, practitioners, and clinicians, compelling the industry to innovate and evolve rigorously, with effective testing and reliable solutions to transform the lives and delivery of healthcare services.

Creavo Medical Technologies, established in 2014, is a global innovator in the development of advanced technology to enable healthcare professionals to detect and diagnose medical conditions – supporting quicker decision making, and diagnostic accuracy.

Creavo’s technology has been dubbed “the first new imaging modality since the advent of the MRI scanner.”

Translating ground-breaking technological research and advanced Artificial Intelligence algorithms into the development of innovative medical devices, Creavo is set to change the face of medical diagnostics all over the globe – speeding decision-making, improving patient management, and enabling crucial cost and resource savings in the healthcare environment.

Exhibiting Excellence Creavo’s core and novel technology combine advanced quantum physics research and Artificial Intelligence that can capture, isolate, and measure the minute magnetic fields associated with various organs in a busy hospital environment opening a whole new diagnostic field to medical professionals.

that can take many hours with various testing including repeat blood draws. Managing acute chest pain patients is a global challenge, in the US alone around 8 million people present to the Emergency Room annually with chest pain costing the health care system an estimated $9Bn,” says the team at Creavo.

Creavo’s Corsens® technology has the potential to enable physicians to identify these non-acute patients early in a non-invasive 5 to 10-minute passive scan of the chest, often through clothing, saving time and important healthcare resources and ultimately patients’ money.

A Benchmark of Expertise Steve Parker, the CEO of Creavo, started his career as a biomedical engineer in the UK health system. He has subsequently spent over 40 years working in global medical device companies, predominantly in cardiology and critical care medicine.

Steve has held various engineering, sales and marketing, and leadership roles with several large US medical device manufacturers, most recently Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories leading all ex-North American commercial activities for the global Point of Care business. This breadth of Steve’s professional experience covers both in-country leadership and global commercialization of innovative professional cardiac and diagnostic medical devices.

The first application of Creavo’s Corsens® technology is intended to help physicians in busy Emergency Departments to rapidly identify and rule out the over 80% of patients that present with chest pain, the usual symptom of a heart attack, but ultimately do not have a serious heart problem.

Revamping Technology We asked Steve for his opinion on how he and his team have fared during the pandemic and its entailing impact on the global MedTech industry, to which he said, “The current pandemic has exposed the fragility of many businesses, but also highlighted the incredible selfless dedication and work done by healthcare professionals across the world.”

“Current practice, quite rightly, treats all patients as if they are having a heart attack until proven otherwise, a process

“The wider MedTech industry has supported these teams in developing diagnostic technologies and vaccines in record

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“

Creavo is set to change the face of medical diagnostics all over the globe.

time and highlighted the role that new technologies that accelerate accurate decision-making can play,” Steve expressed.

“The global pandemic has encouraged business leaders to challenge how we work and how we can empower our teams to work effectively both geographically but also flexibly as they manage the challenges of balancing home working, child education, and project timelines. This is a great opportunity for businesses to differentiate themselves from both existing and future employees whilst implementing better and more sustainable working practices,” he added.

The team at Creavo believes that two key technological trends have and will continue to influence the delivery of global healthcare: First, the advent of wearable and digital technologies has led to a far more personal ownership and a more holistic view of personal health. This has allowed patients to take more personal ownership and contribute to better and earlier diagnosis via home monitoring or as in Creavo’s case, the future ability to provide diagnostics much earlier to patients.

The second is the wider management of patients with a total focus and integration of pre-hospital, in-hospital, and posthospital care. Historically, the healthcare industry has treated individual patient symptoms, via a cardiologist for a heart problem, an orthopedic surgeon, etc. rather than the whole patient. Whilst individual clinical specialties are and remain very important there is a movement to manage the whole patient, focused on disease prevention and earlier discharge rather than in-hospital treatments.

Steve Parker, CEO Towards a Successful Future Having a large study plan in 2021, Creavo aims to unlatch across multiple hospitals in the UK and Europe followed by a similar study in the United States. Making this a final stage in acquiring their patient’s data and training their machine learning algorithms and automating the diagnostic procedure that can be currently done manually by a highly trained individual.

The relatively short regulatory pathway once done, will allow the Corsens® technology to roll out to hospitals initially across Europe followed by the US and other global markets. Helping to enable accurate and timely diagnostics at a patients’ bedside in a busy Emergency Room is one of the most challenging applications of the Corsens® technology.

Once released and proven in this environment there are several potential additional applications of this platform technology both in other areas of the hospital, but also in doctors’ offices and the wider community.

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