15 Minutes With The Doctor: Learn from Healthcare Entrepreneurs and Innovators

15 Minutes With The Doctor: Learn from Healthcare Entrepreneurs and Innovators

By Dr Vinay ShankarBusinessScienceTechnology
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15 Minutes With The Doctor: Learn from Healthcare Entrepreneurs and Innovators episodes

  • 11: Using Deep Learning in Radiology With Jeroen van Duffelen
    In this one, we interview Jeroen, the co-founder of Aidence. Aidence started in 2015 when the company saw the opportunity to apply artificial intelligence technologies to medical image analysis. Learn how Aidence can automatically analyse radiological images, how they raised 2.25 million in investment, and the Jeroen’s thoughts on AI in medicine.
    What you will learn in this episode:

    – What is Aidence and how it works

    – How this impacts the future of radiology
    – Advice for raising capital in the med-tech world
    – The future of AI in medicine

    What is Aidence and how it works

    Aidence is developing artificial intelligence algorithms that focus on the analysis of CT chest radiological images. The software is capable of detecting lung cancer, because the company used algorithms to ‘teach’ the program to detect different types of nodules. It is a supportive tool for radiologists.

    The algorithm reads thousands and thousands of images. Currently, 45 000 images with lung nodules have been annotated and categorised. These images have been inputted into the AI algorithm so that it starts to learn the features of a nodule/cancer. It can recognise all the different variations based on characteristics such as shape, intensity of pixels, volume etc.

    How this impacts the future of radiology

    Before the radiologist receives the images, it has already been sent to Aidence. If Aidence detected a nodule, it will circle the nodule, annotate it, and provide a report describing the characteristic e.g. type of nodule, size, volume and specific location.

    Currently, it supports the radiologist, in a screening situation or also normal clinical practice. In the future, for potential specific situations such as assessing a single disorder, the system could replace a radiologist but in most situations the radiologists have the broader medical experience and knowledge which is required.

    It’s very difficult therefore to train an algorithm to detect a rare disease because there are simply not enough examples to feed into it.

    Artificial intelligence is currently developed by the use of numerous examples which are required for it to effectively diagnose a condition. An algorithm can currently only do a few specific things, depending on how much data has been inputted for analysis. That is the limitation of AI and why they won’t replace radiologists in the short term.

    Advice for raising capital in the med-tech world

    Aidence recently raised €2.25 million in investment, but Jeroen says that raising this sum of money for a pre-market, pre-product, revenue business in Europe is difficult. Some of their competitors in the US and Israel have raised $7.5 – 25 million. They plan to use the money to extend their team and product, apply for CE certification and for distribution to first medical specialists.

    Their advice for anyone trying to raise money for medical technology is to get as much proof on the tech as possible, before trying to raise money. All investors want to know whether you can prove there is commercial viability. AI or IT in health care is so innovative and new that the business models are evolving.

    Aidence started co-developing with the market, and it was this approach that convinced investors because in collaborating with the market, there is proof of a clear pathway to commercialisation.

    Currently, Aidence is being used in several institutions in Holland, and with one radiology company in the US, all of which are in pilot phases. They’re also discussing with several NHS trusts in the UK to start pilots as well. At this point, it’s hard to say how much they will charge for the technology but for one particular disease, the price could range anywhere between €1 to €10 per image analysis. The more disorders they can add to the algorithm, the higher the price will become because the value would significantly increase.

    The future of AI in medicine

    In the short term, AI will provide marginal input and medical specialists will still be needed because it cannot provide broad and accurate diagnostics.

    For the longer term, say 15 – 25 years, that’s when AI will begin to take over the role of diagnostics, which could be in the fields of radiology, microbiology, and in decision making for treatments.

    There are numerous potential changes in digital health but medical institutions are reluctant to support them. Jeroen recommends interacting with companies, large and small, who are developing these new technologies. All the companies are looking for pilot sites and people to provide clinical input and testing. Several young radiologists have approached Aidence as they are aware of changes coming to the industry and see it as an opportunity to be pioneering. He advises other healthcare professionals to consider the same.

    Learn More

    You can learn more at the website http://aidence.com/ or get in touch via email at [email protected] if you would like to get involved with testing or product development.

    If you enjoyed the show and found the content valuable you can help in two ways. Subscribe to the show in iTunes and leave an honest rating or review. Both of those things really help to spread the word about this show.

    19 min
  • 10: Augmented Reality in Medical Education With Brad Waid
    In this episode, we talk to Brad Waid, a school teacher turned Augmented Reality expert. He is rated the top 14th influencer for AR in the world. Today, he shares his insights with using AR in medical education. Learn from his experience working on Anatomy 4D, how to develop an effective user interface, and his thoughts on the future of AR.
    What you will learn in this episode:

    – How Brad discovered augmented reality

    – The use of AR in medical education
    – The UX considerations of AR
    – What to do if you have an idea for AR in the medical industry
    – The future of AR in the medical education space

    How Brad discovered augmented reality

    A school teacher for 10 years, Brad was at a conference in 2013 where a speaker was explaining new technology. When they introduced augmented reality, he thought it was the most amazing thing he had seen. He began researching and found a medical experience in AR. He brought this into the classroom and saw the opportunities it created for deep engagement with his students. Following this, he began to work with companies to create educational AR experiences.

    I felt it was my duty to learn everything I could about augmented reality in every industry and bring it into education as best I could.

    The use of AR in medical education

    A company called Daqri based in LA was commissioned by a U.S. Medical School to create an experience where students could train and work on the human body outside of the lab. The result is an app called Anatomy 4D. Students had a 3-foot vinyl mat, they would scan it and all of a sudden they had a life size human body laying on their workspace. They could rotate it, go in and isolate all the different body systems. The human body AR was so successful that the University asked Daqri to follow it up with an AR version of the human heart.

    Daqri’s research verified that when people are using AR to learn, it’s more efficient, more engaging, and they retain the information longer. The traditional way to learn anatomy is by dissection, but students are usually limited to a couple of hours per week in the lab. The benefit of AR is that you can access it at whatever time you want. It also allows you to have the visual component right in front of you, while your hands are free to manipulate your environment. It’s multi-sensory learning using the power of technology to multiply the resources. Brad worked with Daqri for 2.5 years where he assisted in the design and user experience of their AR products.

    The UX considerations of AR

    There are three main considerations for user experience in the augmented reality space. Firstly, it has to be simple – Users need to pick it up and use it easily. Secondly, whatever is being built needs to be an improved method or experience in comparison to what is currently available – It might be something that’s never been built. Lastly, you must make sure that there’s no lag in the experience. Make sure you have the processing power behind it and that the target is robust enough to hold the experience. It’s better to have a simpler application with no lag than a very deep application where you have to wait – It’s what customers demand.

    What to do if you have an idea for AR in the medical industry

    Run your idea by a trusted person and get their feedback. Once you have that and you really believe in your idea, start building it and you never look back.

    Release a basic version or a minimally viable product. Test it with users and then iterate from there onwards. The costs for creating basic models can vary greatly. Some people do it with just their blood, sweat and tears. Otherwise, it can cost anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000.

    If you have an idea in AR, now is a great time to get started.

    The future of AR in the medical education space

    Brad believes AR in medical education will become commonplace and many institutions are already using it on a complex level.

    With big data and cloud computing, this will become second nature in medical education.

    New students will expect to be using AR. The feedback in AR is immediate and the detail allows for much better interactivity then a text book.

    It’s going to be the next natural fit in the medical community, on the patient side, student side, and every side

    Find out more

    For all things augmented reality and emerging tech, brad has a new website: www.bradwaid.com

    Twitter: @techbradwaid

    You can find out more about Anatomy 4D at http://anatomy4d.daqri.com/

    If you enjoyed the show and found the content valuable you can help in two ways. Subscribe to the show in iTunes and leave an honest rating or review. Both of those things really help to spread the word about new shows.

    20 min
  • 09: Using AI To Connect Thoughts To Similar Minds With Pouria Mojabi
    On this show, we have Pouria from Paralign. It’s an AI powered mental health app which allows you to journal your thoughts and mood, and connect with similar minds. Pouria has previously raised 5.6 million for Vitagene. Today, he shares his key insights from a decade in digital health and how they built this unique app.
    What you will learn in this episode:

    – What is Paralign and how does it work?

    – Considerations when using technology for mental health
    – Why Pouria developed an app for mental health
    – Finding investors in the mental health space
    – Advice to others thinking about innovating in the digital health space

    What is Paralign and how does it work?

    Rachel is interested in the role technology can play to help us with mental health and wellness. Rachel has also been involved in the development in healthcare apps, one as a consultant and one as a co-founder. One of the apps was aimed primarily at supporting carers and people affected by chronic conditions.

    Paralign is an anonymous thought and mood tracker. With every thought you record, it connects you to people who have experienced something similar. It also creates a universe of mindfulness content, guided meditations, educational videos tailored to your thoughts and moods. It’s like a forum for mental health, but it’s much more than that.

    Once people express themselves, the custom-made AI processes different thoughts using graph theory and clustering technology. It can then connect you to similar minds and offer specific support. It could be a community, educational material, or a suggestion of an on-demand coaching session or a support hotline.

    The beta version went viral. It trended on Reddit, the front page of Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur.com. Bloggers from different countries started writing about the app in Chinese, French, Russian, Croatian, and Spanish. Now they have users from 90 different countries.

    Considerations when using technology for mental health

    The similar minds feature allows you to connect to others feeling the same. There is a possibility that vulnerable patients are at risk or their experience becomes negative due to the responses of other users. Paralign manages that by allowing users to report thoughts and conversations. There are moderators 24/7 reviewing these issues. They also notify the reported users and remind them of the community guidelines.

    There’s only one rule, which is that you have to empower other users on the platform.

    There are also monitoring tools in the back-end of the app, listening on certain key words that suggest a user is having thoughts of self-harm or suicide. This allows the Paralign team to get involved, either by talking to that user or by sending a suicide hotline for them to call.

    Why Pouria developed an app for mental health

    Pouria has been in the digital health space for 10 years. He’s worked at hospitals, academia and other digital health startups, including co-founding Vitagene. He and his cofounders see the fundamental issue in digital health platforms being that many don’t understand what users go through emotionally or mentally. One of the goals with Paralign was to solve that problem. They also lost their friend to depression and through that experience, made it their mission to do something about this space.

    The challenges of finding investors in the mental health space

    Mental health is a difficult space to get investors, because there is still a lot of stigma. In the US, investors have gained little in mental health startups, so fundraising for Paralign has been challenging. They managed to find investors who saw the vision and potential. So far, Pouria and the team have raised $150,000 and they’re in the process of closing a $500,000 seed round.

    Previously, Pouria had raised $5.6M for Vitagene. The most vital thing he took from that venture was connections.

    If you want to be a founder and raise money for your startup, you have to really push yourself to network and find good connections to help you along the journey.

    Another key lesson was the power and importance of the team, especially in the early stage when you’re talking to angel investors. They assess your team and prototype to minimise their risk.

    The aim is to combine physical health with mental health, and offer users a comprehensive analysis of their health. It’s going to be the first platform that does that combination:

    We’re not going to stop until we become the platform you go to for your health, where you check in every day, and track your health. We have a unique angle and we’re not going to stop until we figure out how to be the consumer health platform for everyone.

    Advice to others thinking about innovating in the digital health space

    Digital health is challenging. Pouria has been part of startups that tried to go direct-to-consumer and they eventually failed. The history of most direct-to-consumer apps is they eventually become B2B, and they start servicing enterprises to be successful. The other factor is that you need more time for digital health companies because change takes longer in the health space.

    Patience is essential for digital health entrepreneurs. The formula of a startup, the ‘join an accelerator for 2-3 months’ approach, doesn’t really work with digital health. You need more money and yet investors can be conservative because it’s digital health. Many digital health apps or startups are often driven by a personal cause which is a driving force.

    Learn more

    The Paralign app is on Google Play and the Apple Store.

    Pouria would love to hear from you personally with feedback and comments. Email [email protected]

    If you enjoyed the show and found the content valuable you can help in two ways. Subscribe to the show in iTunes and leave an honest rating or review. Both of those things really help to spread the word about new shows.

    20 min
  • 08: The Personal Brand Of Dr Rachel Thomas
    In this episode, we talk to Dr Rachel Thomas – A practicing doctor, healthcare innovator, author and speaker. Her first book was written as a medical student! Today, Rachel shares her perspectives on writing, the impact of technology on healthcare, and how she became the British Medical Association’s Young Author of the Year 2016.
    What you will learn in this episode:

    – Rachel’s journey into medicine

    – How Rachel applies her tech interests in her current medical practice
    – Perspectives on mental health optimisation and the impact of technology
    – How Rachel became an author, a speaker and the British Medical Association’s Young Author of the Year 2016
    – How an accident changed her views on patient experience
    – Advice to other healthcare professionals that want to become writers
    – Where to find out more about Rachel

    Rachel’s journey into medicine

    Dr Rachel Thomas has been interested in different areas of health and wellness for a long time. Her first degree was in Biomedical Engineering and Science at Sydney University and included a year at UC Berkeley. She was inspired by the infectious optimism for health-tech in California. After returning to Sydney, she worked at a company that used technology to create devices to help with respiratory problems. A foray into modeling saw Rachel move to London. After moving to UK, she studied Medicine.

    How Rachel applies her tech interests in her current medical practice

    Rachel is interested in the role technology can play to help us with mental health and wellness. Rachel has also been involved in the development in healthcare apps, one as a consultant and one as a co-founder. One of the apps was aimed primarily at supporting carers and people affected by chronic conditions.

    Mental health optimisation and the impact of technology

    Rachel is particularly interested in mental health optimisation – It’s beneficial for all of us to look at techniques that can protect mental health and help prevent mental health problems. From a general mental health point of view, she believes we live in a very interesting time.

    The information that we have to process on a daily basis has pretty much doubled in the last 20 years. Just looking at the average anxiety levels of people on the street, our general levels are basically equal to what psychiatric in-patients had in the 1950s. One side of the argument is that technology is creating a lot of these problems, but the flip side of the argument is that technology also holds a lot of potential for helping people with mental health problems. It is certainly opening up conversations and decreasing stigma.

    How Rachel became an author, a speaker and the British Medical Association’s Young Author of the Year 2016

    Rachel has written two books for medical students and doctors, both published by Wiley-Blackwell. The first book she actually proposed to the publisher whilst she was still a medical student. Practical Medical Procedures at a Glance and Medical School at a Glance are both aimed at making the lives of medical students and doctors easier.

    She believes she won the British Medical Association Young Author Award due to the innovative nature of her book and the fact that it was written as a medical student. Rachel discusses her publishing deals and how public speaking is a natural progression for her. It’s an opportunity to talk about key issues in health and technology.

    How an accident changed her views on patient experience

    Rachel had an accident a year and a half ago which she found to be an interesting experience in many ways. She questioned parts of the patient experience, it sparked an interest in the importance of the mind and a focus on positivity in regards to healing.

    Advice to other healthcare professionals that want to become writers

    Rachel discusses the multiple avenues beyond only writing in books. For instance, Rachel writes for Huffington Post and the BMJ.

    When people want to get started in these areas, it’s great if they can get their writing out on other platforms that are accessible. It’s good practice in terms of the craft of writing and it allows you to reach a big audience by using some of these other avenues.

    Each of the sites will have different content that they are looking for and different style requirements, which impacts what work they accept and publish. If your ultimate goal is to have a book published, it can be helpful to know that you’ve got a body of work that you can show publishers and they can see that people are interested in reading your work.

    Where to find out more about Rachel

    The best place to contact Rachel is through her website, www.doctorrachel.org

    You can also follower her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/doctor.rachel

    If you enjoyed the show and found the content valuable you can help in two ways. Subscribe to the show in iTunes and leave an honest rating or review. Both of those things really help to spread the word about new shows.

    20 min
  • 07: Building A Virtual Physiotherapy Service With Paul Bryce
    On this episode, we have co-founder and physiotherapist Paul from JimJam – A digital health platform where patients can access online physiotherapists via video. Learn how to create a remote consultation platform, how to address the clinical challenges of using video consultations, and listen to Paul’s thoughts on competition and disruptive technology in healthcare.
    What you will learn in this episode:

    – What is JimJam?

    – How physiotherapy works remotely
    – How to ensure safety during remote consultation
    – The importance of red flag identification
    – Choosing a price point for disruptive technology
    – Why Paul welcomes competition
    – The biggest challenge for JimJam

    What is JimJam?

    JimJam is a digital physiotherapy platform. The platform allows people to have a remote physiotherapy consultation in real time using video chat technology.

    The clinical reason to build JimJam is to remove barriers to access clinicians at the appropriate time. Research tells us that early intervention and active rehabilitation are important, both are facilitated by having a remote consultation. Additionally, we have an aging population, so there are an increasing number of people trying to access a diminishing resource. By providing people the opportunity to get quick access to a physiotherapist, there is evidence it reduces demands on the health service.

    How physiotherapy works remotely

    One obvious limitation of online services is that you can’t touch a patient during physical examination. However, although you can’t touch the patient, you can examine them. The look and move components can be covered by asking the patients to do certain movements. There are many tests that can be done that are movement related (e.g. does a patient have restricted movement?). These tests can be replicated without having to be in the same room.

    How to ensure safety during remote consultation

    JimJam is incredibly robust on clinical governance. All JimJam physiotherapists are HTPC registered and CSP registered. When the physiotherapists arrive at the working diagnosis, they’ll explain what the patient can expect (e.g. day 1, week 1, month 1). They’ll describe the need for and specifics of the active rehabilitation based on their particular presentation.

    The importance of red flag identification

    During a remote consultation, the physiotherapist has to be alert to red flag identification. The majority of red flag identification comes during the subjective assessment. This is why the people that work with JimJam tend to be senior clinicians, because they have the experience and knowledge base to make it extremely safe.

    Choosing a price point for disruptive technology

    The price point for JimJam is £19.99, this was chosen for a number of reasons. The premise of remote consultations in physiotherapy is disruptive, making it appealing also means making it cost effective. This price is for our B to C market.The majority of the fee—80%—goes to the physiotherapist, which is in line with standard locum pay for physiotherapists. The rest is to run and use the platform.

    Occupational health and other B to B customers are currently more profit generating for JimJam than single customers. Large organisations that have a captive audience of staff need to access services like this rapidly, to have a healthy workforce.

    Why Paul welcomes competition

    One of the things about competition, especially for disruptive technology, is that you can almost look upon it as proof of concept. JimJam responds to competition by improving iterations of the platform and how they provide services. This kind of platform already exists for GP services (Babylon Health), so it’s in the public consciousness.

    “There’s space for everyone, as long as what you do, you do well.”

    The biggest challenges for JimJam

    The biggest challenge for JimJam has been the confusion and disconnect around how remote consultations can work:

    “With physiotherapy, the clue is in the name: it’s a physical therapy. By definition, with a remote consultation, clinicians are not in the same room and not doing anything to you. So it’s that kind of disconnect that people ask ‘how can physiotherapy be successful without being in the same room?’ That’s the most common question that JimJam gets asked and probably the biggest challenge that they’ve had to overcome by explaining that there are other things you can do (besides the in-the-same-room options) that will really help.”

    Learn more about JimJam at www.jimj.am

    If you enjoyed the show and found the content valuable you can help in two ways. Subscribe to the show in iTunes and leave an honest rating or review. Both of those things really help to spread the word about new shows.

    18 min
  • 06: Improving Pregnancy With A Data-driven App with David Schärf
    David is the CEO and co-founder of the app Femisphere. The app supports women in pregnancy by tracking their health data, providing curated content, and by offering an interface to connect with their doctor. Learn how they collaborated with UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, how they integrated numerous patient data points, how they continuously improve their app, and their focus on business to business markets.
    What you will learn in this episode:

    – Why is Femisphere needed?

    – How did Femisphere link in with UNICEF and the World Health Organisation?
    – What are Spheres?
    – What drives app updates?
    – Do doctors pay for the app?
    – Current partnerships and plans for growth
    – What advice does David have for medical app creators?

    Why is Femisphere needed?

    There was a need from pregnant women for quality information with tracking and better support in their pregnancy. This was recognised by patients and by healthcare professionals.

    The original intention was to create a generic patient profile to cover various diseases, but they decided to change to a ‘vertical’ approach. Pregnancy is an experience with many doubts, questions, and first-time interactions. Fifty percent of patients had questions with no immediate answers. The app has a variety of validated content (videos and articles) to help in multiple subjects. In addition to pregnancy, Femisphere now covers the first year after the child has been born.

    How did Femisphere link in with UNICEF and the World Health Organisation?

    A few years ago, those organisations were looking for new ways of promoting initiatives that promote breastfeeding. Team Femisphere struck out an exclusive and collaborative partnership.

    What are spheres?

    The app has a feature called ‘spheres.’ These are coloured visual representations of personal data. They allow tracking of your personal data and special moments in an easily understandable format.

    What drives the app updates?

    The app is being continually updated in view of app store reviews and user feedback. Additionally, they use qualitative feedback from users by way of gathering insights from video recordings of app use.

    Do doctors pay for the app?

    The app is free for doctors. There’s a premium (paid) version of the app which allows patients to access their full medical record and to connect directly with their doctor through the app. Additionally, the premium version of the app has more content.

    Current partnerships and plans for growth

    Femisphere is working with an insurance company in Abu Dhabi which has provided multiple insights within this culture. They’re also working with one of the largest clinics in Germany. They’re looking to expand to the UK and US, as well as investing money to localise and translate the app for different regions. It has been easier to work with B2B companies initially and then scale for further growth in all markets.

    What advice does David have for medical app creators?

    David is a fan of the lean start-up method and the Business Model Canvas. Validate your idea. Don’t be shy, and don’t be worried about others stealing your idea:

    “The secret sauce is never the idea itself. The hard part is the execution. Talk to as many people (customers, partners, anyone who will listen) as you can, and don’t be shy about changing things to solve another problem. At first, create a solution that delivers one to three features very well.”

    Find Femisphere on the app store or google play or visit onelife.me. You can also connect on Twitter and Facebook.

    If you enjoyed the show and found the content valuable you can help in two ways. Subscribe to the show in iTunes and leave an honest rating or review. Both of those things really help to spread the word about new shows.

    19 min
  • 05: How To Develop An App Which Helps You Think Like An Expert Doctor With Dr Lorin Gresser
    Today, we have Dr Lorin Gresser, who is the creator of DEM Dx, a medical education app. The app teaches diagnostic skills by utilising the approach taken by experts in medicine. Learn how Lorin has integrated the process of decision making in medicine into an educational app, her approach to validate the app, and how she built a team of expert physician contributors.
    What you will learn in this episode:

    – What is the DEM Dx app and why is it important?

    – Decision Making in Medicine and DEM Dx
    – The success of the DEM Dx app & validation
    – Keeping the app up-to-date
    – Entrepreneurial lessons Dr Gresser learned throughout her career

    What is the DEM Dx app and why is it important?

    Doctors are taught about diseases and their symptoms, but the real world works in reverse, where symptoms appear first and a doctor must make decisions to arrive at a conclusion. The DEM Dx app utilises the thought processes of expert doctors through decision trees.

    Decision Making in Medicine and DEM Dx

    The app ensures that you aren’t skipping steps or narrowing the decision making funnel too quickly. For example, the natural bias for chest pain is something heart related, but chest pain may also come from multiple other causes.

    The success of the DEM Dx app & validation

    Dr Gressler won a Woman of Innovation in 2016 award from Innovate UK. She is using those funds to run a study to see how DEM Dx changes decision making behaviours and to validate how effective the app is – This is something that is not done typically in the mobile app field.

    They are close to 20 000 downloads in the last 5 months, with only a limited amount of marketing. Dr Gresser is continuing to find ways to make the app useful and make sure people use it as part of their daily or weekly habits. It has spread very well through word-of-mouth between physicians and students.

    Keeping the app up-to-date

    As an app, they’ll be able to push out updates as they go. For example, they could add images or audio files demonstrating heart murmurs. The app does not require the latest guidelines as it is focused on the thought process behind making decisions and diagnosis in medical care.

    Entrepreneurial lessons Dr Gresser learned throughout her career

    In business, you’re expected to fail, and it’s okay to fail, because those failures can lead you to the successful projects or provide skills to apply to those other projects. It’s also helpful to have a network of other entrepreneurs to get advice and support.

    Find out more about DEM Dx at www.demdx.com. You can download the DEM Dx app on the Apple app store and contact DEM Dx by sending an email through the website.

    19 min
  • 04: How A Rugby Head Guard Was Developed As A Medical Device with Mark Ganly
    On this show, we have the co-founder of N-Pro. He shares with us their story on how they have developed a unique new rugby head guard. Learn why he was inspired to create the head guard, the importance of end-user research, and the intricacies of classing a product as a medical device with CE mark approval.
    What you will learn in this episode:
    • What is N-Pro and the idea
    • The reason a new approach to helmet development was needed
    • The innovative process that went into creating N-Pro
    • The benefits of classing the product as a medical device and how the product was tested
    • Some thoughts about the ethics of animal testing
    • The challenges of working in a field of innovation
    • Advice for people dealing with the press and media
    • What is N-Pro and the idea

      N-Pro was founded by Mark and his wife, in part because of their backgrounds. Mark had a company that was developing sports helmets for the Irish sport called Hurling, and he was also involved in the development of safety standards for sports helmets. Meanwhile his wife, is involved in the medical device industry.

      The reason a new approach to helmet development was needed

      The area of head injuries in sport is a controversial and emotive topic. While there are developments in the diagnostic space, Mark and his wife were more interested in reducing the risk factors of the injury happening in the first place. There are two major risk factors for head injuries in rugby: linear impacts (90 degree blows to the head) and rotational impacts (glancing blows that make the head spin).

      The innovative process that went into creating N-Pro

      The co-founders could see a huge unmet clinical need in the sport. They applied it to the principles and processes that had traditionally been used in the medical environment.

      The benefits of classing the product as a medical device and how the product was tested

      There are a number of companies around the world looking at sports helmet development, but according to Mark, lots of companies are making unvalidated claims. When you’re looking at addressing a clinical issue, he believes all those products should be under medical device directives.

      N-Pro has been through over 3 years of research and development. They started with the traditional way you would test sports head gear—bench testing and drop testing. The next step was a pre-clinical animal study.

      Some thoughts about the ethics of animal testing

      Although some people are against animal testing, it’s still used in the medical field. Pre-clinical studies are very common in the medical device industry. Most medical devices, apart from very low-grade risk products, would have used pre-clinical studies, which some people might not know. However, that’s what commonly happens. You have to test a number of factors in the product before you can move into human testing.

      The challenges of working in a medical field which evolving

      There is always more to learn in the field of concussion research in sports. Mark says the current N-Pro product is only the first version of the product. They have several other designs planned for it and will be constantly innovating the product as new research and development occurs.

      Advice to people dealing with the press & media

      Head injuries are a hot topic so there are stories all the time. In terms of giving advice, he suggests managing expectations with the press. They have said clearly that the product is designed to reduce risk factors. However, a lot of the time people like to turn it into a sensational headline, that this is going to solve this issue. Mark has remained consistent in his message in the fact of this sensationalism:

      “We’ve always said it’s a multifactorial response that’s needed here to address this issue.”

      Find out more at the website www.n-pro.com or on Twitter: @nprosports

      I hope you enjoyed the conversation today – Please leave a review and subscribe on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

      20 min
    • 03: Creating a Revolutionary Handheld Ultrasound Device with Dave Willis
      Today’s guest shares his expertise from years of working in the ultrasound industry. Their unique handheld ultrasound device can link directly to a smartphone or tablet. Dave Willis, the co-founder of Clarius, tells us how their mobile device can change the way doctors work, how they created the device, and their unique sales strategy.

      1:00 Dave introduces his company Clarius and his product, which is a groundbreaking ultrasound device that connects to any tablet or smartphone running iOS or Android.

      1:30 He was inspired to create the device when he visited a hospital department and heard how the number of consultants was much greater then available ultrasound ma-chines.

      2:58 Dave’s company has removed typical hardware that ultrasound machines use and has enabled consultants to literally work with whatever mobile phone device they have in their pockets.

      3:48 At the moment, the device is limited to Android and iOS as the vast majority of physicians are using devices with those systems.

      4:42 Dave’s background is in ultrasound and working directly with physicians.

      5:45 He feels the big advantage of his device is accessibility and affordability.

      6:53 In the past, anything sub $10,000 with good image quality was difficult to find. Image quality is extremely important to new users.

      8:00 The device doesn’t remove the need for training. That is still required, but it makes a range of diagnosis and treatments much more accessible to physicians.

      9:20 Dave feels that this technology could be a good fit in quite a number of developing nations.

      9:48 A good friend of Dave’s had developed his own ultrasound product previously, so when Dave relayed the earlier story about the hospital department with limited ultrasound equipment, they began working to create a device. A three-year window followed with development of an open source wireless system to talk to any operating system.

      10:57 The product was primarily funded internally.

      11:39 Dave discusses acquiring FDA and CE approval. A key tip is not to make any outrageous claims about your product in this process. The process of approval is typically six months from starting tests to final submissions based on feedback from the authorities.

      13:30 Dave recommends newcomers to engage a third-party reviewer to help them with getting a product ready for the approval review.

      14:23 Dave discusses their sales strategy which involves direct sales to end-users which is atypical of the industry. This can allow a dramatic cost reduction for the customer.

      16:19 Clarius’s focus is point-of-care. They don’t plan to replace the big ultrasound ma-chines in the radiology department – getting smaller machines into point-of-care departments is where the biggest growth will occur in next few years.

      17:45 Dave shares his personal experiences to show how ultrasound can improve accuracy for simple procedures.

      18:36 The best point of contact for Dave is www.clarius.me where there is information and testimonials about the product.

      I hope you enjoyed the conversation today – Please leave a review and subscribe on iTunes. It really does help the show! Thanks for listening!

      Read on to see how Dave answered my final question:

      Vinay: What advice would you give to aspiring healthcare entrepreneurs and innovators?

      Dave: I think a couple of things. One is certainly a clear understanding of the end user. I’ve seen a lot of devices get on the market and fail because they miss the fundamental use model. Either they were too expensive or the image quality wasn’t good enough. I think it’s imperative to really understand the marketplace that you’re trying to address. Then of course just having a passion for that. We were quite lucky, the founder and myself, that our whole background has really been ultrasound for a lot of years. So it was fairly easy for us to step in and we did come up with a very good product to address the markets that we planned on going after. I think those two things are critical.

      Vinay: Yes, and I agree. It’s much easier to innovate in your own field that you have spent many years working in, so you know the ins and outs. It can be easier to see where innovation is required, rather than sometimes approaching a field that you know very little about.

      Dave: Absolutely. We get calls all the time. A lot of consultants want to work with you to help you in the marketplace. Between myself and others that I work with, we probably have more inherent experience in those markets than the consultants do. We really have no need for consultants at this point in time, because we’ve been in these marketplaces for years and we truly under-stand what we’re trying to do and who we’re working with.

      20 min
    • 02: Capturing Data Effectively From Patients with Bruce Hellman
      Bruce Hellman is Co-Founder of an innovative app called uMotif. Today, he discusses the app he has developed. It is changing the traditional approach of how clinicians and researchers gather information from patients. Discover the importance
      of design and a patient-centred approach to create impact.

      00:26 This episode’s guest Bruce Hellman, CEO and Co-Founder of uMotif is introduced.

      01:06 Bruce begins to describe briefly his company and the app that they have developed. It is essentially a cutting edge digital research tool to help patients and practitioners in the realm of healthcare.

      01:42 After meeting some patients with Parkinson’s disease, they pointed out to Bruce how beneficial the technology his company was developing would be in tracking their symptoms. The system can now track sixteen clinical conditions.

      02:30 Initially the system was designed to track Bruce’s sleep patterns, but when he and his co-founder met some patients, it morphed into something entirely different.

      03:03 Bruce went along to an open entry competition to win funding for his concept, and through this competition he was lucky enough to secure funding and meet patient groups. These competitions still exist, and are useful opportunities for any of the listeners that may have an idea to pursue.

      04:27 Design is the difference between Bruce’s app and other systems that exist. From the word go, he wanted to do something different and something that was easier to use then other apps out there. Bruce’s co-founder was a designer, so implementing good design was a core part of the business.

      05:15 Over the 4 years of its existence, the company has evolved and matured, but Bruce feels having a strong technology team is a key part of the business. All of Bruce’s developers are in house.

      06:14 Bruce accepts you can outsource work, but he encourages people to see if they can do a lot of their set up work in-house.

      06:48 Bruce describes how his company started collaborations with Hundred for Parkinsons and Cloudy with a Chance of Pain.

      8:00 Bruce had no connections in the industry when he started. He recommends going to meet-ups and networking events. If you are going to do something that is going to make a difference to people, clinicians and practitioners are always ready and willing to talk.

      9:09 The app is free to patients, and Bruce intends that to always be the case – revenue is made from charging the hospital or research study.

      9:48 The platform can be customised to meet the requirements of different research studies.

      10:27 The future as Bruce sees it, is that any patient will be able to use digital technology to capture more high quality data and engage patients on an easy-to-use platform. This provides high quality data to be used in clinical research.

      11:10 Already huge amounts of data is imported from wearables and web data for use in the platform.

      11:52 When the focus is on providing a patient with a high quality experience, it is easy to obtain quality data, and Bruce feels this approach has worked best. To set out to get data first and provide a quality experience second would not be equally effective.

      12:43 Bruce’s advice is to be as focused as you can on the problem you intend to solve. A product that makes a financial impact on healthcare is more likely to be successful.

      13:36 Bruce’s app can reduce costs through patient-generated data by increasing efficiency of trials. Lowering the cost of trials is a huge benefit.

      14:34 More information can be found at uMotif.com or on Twitter:@umotif

      Thanks for listening!

      Please leave a review and subscribe on iTunes. Your reviews are really helpful and I look forward to reading them!

      16 min

    About 15 Minutes With The Doctor: Learn from Healthcare Entrepreneurs and Innovators

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    The podcast for inspiring stories from businesses, start-ups and innovators in healthcare and medical technology