The start-up Biobeat has developed a remote monitoring system for patients’ medical indicators. This system efficiently transmits data to healthcare providers, enabling informed and real-time medical responses.
The Background
In recent decades, global demographic shifts, including the notable rise in life expectancy, have often resulted in a substantial increase in the demand for health services. The aging of the population is marked by a gradual decline in both functioning and health. According to data from the Ministry of Health in Israel, individuals can anticipate an average of 10.4 years of enduring functional deterioration, illness, or confronting a significant health event.
With advancing age, the proportion of complex patients dealing with multiple diseases increases, as does the prevalence of chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, necessitating thorough and continuous medical supervision. Healthcare providers currently face the challenges of managing these patients’ frequent clinic visits and addressing the escalating costs linked to recurrent hospitalizations. If these trends persist, predictions suggest that the demand for healthcare will exceed the available supply in the coming years.
Menomadin Foundation Impact investment: A medical monitoring platform that empowers caregivers to make informed medical decisions remotely while allowing patients to receive treatment at home.
Photo by: Biobeat
The Challenge
Remote medical monitoring technologies exist and are currently in use in various hospitals worldwide. However, due to budgetary constraints, their widespread and optimal implementation has not been achieved. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a glimpse into the potential future if there is no change in the way health systems operate. The rapid global spread of the pandemic, coupled with budgetary burdens and heavy workloads, resulted in the physical and mental burnout of healthcare workers. The pandemic-induced hospitalizations heightened infection risks for both patients and medical staff. As a result, the need to swiftly implement technological solutions that effectively facilitate remote medical care has become essential on a global scale.
The ability to remotely monitor patients’ vital indicators holds the potential to impact not only patients but also caregivers, medical institutions, and health systems. Many patients already prefer home treatment over prolonged hospitalization, provided that it allows for medical follow-ups by a caregiver familiar with the patient’s history, aware of their unique needs and limitations. For caregivers, continuous symptom monitoring helps anticipate medical emergencies, identify evolving worsening trends, and adapt patient care to changing needs. For healthcare institutions and hospitals, remote monitoring significantly contributes to reducing the workload of medical teams. It enables ongoing patient monitoring even after discharge, ultimately decreasing the overall cost of treatment—a substantial saving reflected in the overall health budget. Additionally, remote monitoring and home hospitalization offer a clear advantage in curbing the spread of epidemics and other infectious diseases.
The Opportunity
The Israeli startup Biobeat has pioneered a wireless, wearable, and non-invasive system for remote monitoring of vital medical indicators. This innovative system comprises a single-use monitoring device affixed to the chest and a reusable monitoring accessory worn like a wristwatch. Equipped with a patented sensor, these devices deliver accurate readings of 13 health parameters simultaneously, transmitting them continuously and automatically.
A cloud-based app collects the received data and employs artificial intelligence software to analyze it, generating insights. This enables caregivers to make informed medical decisions remotely, allowing patients to seamlessly receive treatment at home and integrate it into their daily routines. In the event of identifying risk factors or worsening patient conditions, the system promptly alerts the treating medical team, potentially saving lives. The platform has the capability to collect an impressive 243 million data points per patient per day, per patient. This comprehensive and continuous monitoring plays a crucial role in early disease diagnosis, predicting and identifying medical condition deterioration, and enables effective treatment.
Biobeat’s platform extends its utility to medical trials, facilitating continuous, rapid, and convenient monitoring of vital physical indicators.
Photo by: Biobeat
Biobeat’s platform extends its utility to medical trials, facilitating continuous, rapid, and convenient monitoring of vital physical indicators for both trial participants and the control group. This process involves mapping their responses to the drugs or treatment plans being tested, ultimately shortening the study period. The extensive use of Biobeat’s platform has allowed the company to assemble one of the largest global databases of vital physical indicators (Big Data), establishing it as an indispensable asset for advancing medical research.
Biobeat’s medical monitoring device is one of the first to secure FDA approval for non-invasive cuff-free blood pressure monitoring. Additionally, it complies to the European CE standard.
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