1T

H
E

Most Disruptive
2021
VOL. 04
ISSUE-1
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 self-
monitoring 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 Making Freedom of Incorporating Human
through the Power Mobility Accessible Sense in Artificial
of Technology and Affordable Intelligence

ARTICLES
Constant Change Tech Timeline
The importance of continuous The evolution of MedTech
innovation in healthcare devices through the ages

CXO
Expert Opinion
How to Translate Data
into Revenue Growth
 CONTENTS
Creavo
Transforming Future
of Cardiology with
Promethean Technology

COVER
STORY

Saving Lives, One Innovation at a Time

 Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar

Senior Editor Anish Miller

Managing Editor Abhishaj Sajeev
Assisting Editors Vrushali, Ashish

Visualiser David King

Art & Design Head Asha Bange
Co-designer Paul Belin
Art & Picture Editor Priyanka Rajage

Business Development Manager Amy Jones

Marketing Manager John Smith
Business Development Executives Sarah Wilson, John Smith, Alex Vincent
Sales Executives Kelli, Bill, Anna

Technical Head Jacob Smile

Assistant Technical Head Pratiksha Patil
Technical Consultants David, Robert

Digital Marketing Manager Alina Sege

Assistant Digital Marketing Manager Amol Wadekar
SME-SMO Executives Atul, Gemson

Research Analyst Eric Smith

Circulation Manager Tanaji

sales@insightscare.com
April, 2021
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 1 T
H
E
MOST DISRUPTIVE
MedTech
INNOVATORS FOR 2021

Company Name Featuring Description

Abilitech Medical strives to create and build innovative

Abilitech Medical Angie Zavoral Conley
abilitechmedical.com
solutions that restore function and independence to those
President and CEO
affected by neuromuscular conditions.

ABLE Human Motion is a Barcelona-based start-up

ABLE Human Motion Alfons Carnicero developing robotic exoskeletons to improve the quality of
ablehumanmotion.com Co-founder and CEO life of people with disabilities.

Aidence provides intelligent software that empowers

Aidence Jeroen van Duffelen healthcare and pharmaceutical professionals to deliver
aidence.com Cofounder and CBO faster, more precise diagnostics and treatments.

Ariane Medical
Keith Spanswick Ariane Medical Systems specialises in equipment for
Systems Ltd
arianemedicalsystems.com Executive Chairman treating cancers using low energy photons (X Rays).

Cority Mark Wallace Cority is the global enterprise EHS software provider that
cority.com President and CEO empowers those who transform the way the world works.

Creavo Medical Technologies Ltd is a UK-based, privately held

Creavo Steve Parker
medical technology company that is developing innovative
creavomedtech.com CEO
diagnostic techniques for use in acute medical settings.

Cytosorbents Corporation Phillip P. Chan CytoSorbents Corporation is a leader in critical care

cytosorbents.com CEO immunotherapy, specializing in blood purification.

Jasper van Weerd LipoCoat is on a mission is to improve the performance,

LipoCoat
Founder and Managing comfort and safety of medical devices by using LipoCoat
lipocoat.com
Director coatings.

Mercuris' goal is to offer medical professionals and

Mecuris GmBH Peter Fröhlingsdorf certified prosthetist orthotists (CPO) the possibility to
mecuris.com CEO create individual orthoses online in a cost- and time-saving
way.

DineshVerma V2U Healthcare is a leading Singapore Based Company with

V2U healthcare the goal to be a leading rehabilitation medicine, healthcare &
Founder and Manging
v2uhealth.com wellness industry solution provider in Singapore and Asia.
Director
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).
 ‘ LipoCoat’s
bio-inspired
coating technology
prevents biofilm
formation to reduce
‘
healthcare associated
infections.

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.

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
Value-based healthcare—focusing on
university, he invented the unique
bioinspired LipoCoat® coatings.
Jasper was a visiting researcher at
PennState University (USA),
Politechnico Milano (Italy) and Utrecht
‘
treatment outcomes—and the use of
preventative innovations must take
University (the Netherlands). He is the up a more prominent position.
author of 11 peer reviewed
publications and the inventor of 3
 ‘
patents. In 2016, he founded LipoCoat
to make his invention available for the
general public.

When asked for his opinion on how the

adaptation of modern technology in the
‘
Moving towards a more universal regulatory
process will help to convert promising
technologies into widely accessible healthcare
healthcare discipline has transformed innovation.
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
‘ 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.

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 COVID-
19 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 self-
reliant and individualized.
14 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com
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,
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.
is lightweight, comfortable, and easy to
Clinical pilot studies are planned to
use. Angie Conley
study stroke rehabilitation at Houston
Methodist, and Cerebral Palsy at Texas founder and CEO
Being an experienced leader in the
Children's Hospital. Other partner
healthcare sector, share with us your
organizations include HealthPartners
opinion on how the adaptation of
and Allina Health Courage Kenny
modern technology in the healthcare
Rehabilitation Institute.

“
discipline has transformed the The Abilitech™
industry and what more could be
What makes your company a
expected in the near future?
Assist facilitates
preferred choice over your
competitors?
Assistive technology is a booming independent control
category for the med device industry.
The Abilitech Assist is the only body-
There have been many recent
of the arms by
worn assistive technology device that
empowers a movement of both the
breakthroughs by assistive devices, supporting and
including the Abilitech™ Assist. The
shoulder and the elbow. The hybrid assisting both the
technology uses springs, motors, and
software to optimize the support
needed for everyone without
overriding their existing function.
largest focus has been focused on
powering the legs or working on brain
interface technology, which is invasive,
expensive, and not accessible for
shoulder and elbow
for people with
“
Each patient can dynamically adjust
several years. Abilitech is focused on minimal strength.
the upper body and works with existing
their profile with the touch of a button
function, as opposed to fully robotic
to support them in lifting objects of
support, which would override patient
varying weights. The Abilitech Assist
strength and weaken the arms. The

15 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

 nonprofit that created a 3D printed exoskeleton to help
Assist device has been called “the wheelchair” for the arms
children affected by arthrogryposis, an orphan medical
and “power steering for the arms” by Abilitech patients and
condition, use their arms.
their caregivers. Abilitech has plans for more breakthroughs
for the upper body, including assistive devices to support
Angie still recalls, during that time, the look of delight on
hand function.The Abilitech team expectsthere to be a
one child's face as he moved his arm, on his own, for the
continued transformation in assistive technology
very first time. His parents were similarly awestruck. It was
applications.
such a moving experience for Angie that drove her to solve
the problem that thousands of Americans must deal with
Taking into consideration the current pandemic, and its
every day.
impact on global economies, how are you driving your
organization to sustain operations and ensuring the
During her tenure at Magic Arms, Angie received many
safety of your employees at the same time?
emails and voicemails asking if the organization's device
Abilitech isproviding online telehealth assessments to
could help them or someone, they love who has. MD, ALS,
people in the safety of their own homes, allowing
or SCI. But Magic Arms was focused on pediatric orphan
consultation with the company's clinical advisory team. An
conditions and had a very limited budget. It simply did not
added benefit to providing online assessment vs. only in-
have the resources to develop a new technology to help
person appointments is that Abilitech can reach people
adults and scale the technology to meet the needs of many
throughout the U.S. more efficiently. The virtual assessment
people and evolved into a medical device company.
is efficient and saves time for both parties, allowing the
Abilitech team to work with the patients, payers, and
Eventually, Angie realized that her background in MedTech
clinicians to begin the process of securing a device and
at Medtronic, coupled with her experience at Magic Arms,
helping find a solution faster.
could be leveraged to start a new company focused on
transforming lives: Abilitech Medical.
Abilitechreimbursement consultants can also effectively
interface with patients online.Abilitech's technology
In 2016, Abilitech raised $2.3 million to form a world-class
platform allows the team to work from home efficiently,
team focused on solving the problem of restoring basic
limiting the need to travel to and work inside its Eden
functional abilities to people with severely limited upper-
Prairie offices. Abilitech's clinical partners and sales team
limb strength. Abilitech is focused on the needs of a market
are located throughout the U.S., so working remotely comes
estimated at more than $2 billion.
naturally for the company and is effective for the business.
To date, Angie and her team have raised more than $10
How do you plan to scale your company and/or its
million, used for the development of the Assist, obtaining
operations in 2021?
FDA registration (which was accomplished in 2020),
With the recent FDA listing of the Assist, Abilitech is
completing additional clinical studies, and providing for
focused on working with patient advocacy groups, patient
commercial expansion in the U.S.
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.

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

16 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

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,

18 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

 Constant Change

19 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

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.
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
20 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com
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.
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
22 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com
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
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.

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 Robotics and especially exoskeleton
most promising medical device technology is set to bring a tremendous
start-ups in Europe, winning the Best
Alfons Carnicero
impact on global health, by increasing
European Robotics Startup in 2020 and the mobility and independence of CEO and Co-Founder
the Toyota Startup Awards 'Mobility neurologic patients and the elderly
for All' competition. population while reducing the

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.
“
likelihood of accidents and falls. At ABLE, we are
However, not all it's good news here, trying to disrupt the
as the pandemic has caused millions of exoskeleton market
deaths around the world and triggered
one of the largest economic crisis from the bottom up,
exposing the vulnerabilities of current focusing on the
healthcare systems and supply chains
design of
and the worst inequalities between
continents and countries.“Now, while
we recover from this crisis,” says
Alfons, “As a society, we should
exoskeletons for
specific pathologies,
“
prioritize health and research to resulting in user-
promote well-being and prosperity in
the years to come.” centered solutions.
The flexibility of work during the
lockdown

23 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com


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
24 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com
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.
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
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 neuroplasticity during rehabilitation.”
With stroke being the first cause of
movement disability in the US and
“ABLE Human Motion is a great example of leveraging technology in an
Europe (1 in 6 people will have a
innovative way to solve an important unmet need that will make a significant stroke in their lifetime), Alfons
difference in people's lives today! They restore the power of walking for those believes that this device will be a
suffering from spinal cord injury, creating a significant lifestyle and health game-changer, situated in a unique
benefits. I had the opportunity to work closely with the dynamic team driving position to set a new standard for the
this company forward as part of the 2019 CRAASH Barcelona program – an post-stroke rehabilitation. ABLE
intense 12-week program for teams to engage stakeholders to develop and Human Motion is working on the said
device to enter the European market in
validate a value proposition and go-to-market plan with industry veterans.
2024, after obtaining the CE-mark
The team made the most of this and every opportunity they have made happen approval.
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 While sharing the company's diligent
users, economic buyers, value proposition and business model.” goals Alfons also expressed gratitude
– John Collins, Ph.D., COO at Consortia for Improving Medicine with towards the team's efforts and
Innovation & Technology (CIMIT, Boston). collaborations with expert advisors.
“We are scaling our company by
understanding very well our needs at
“I commend the team at Able on focusing their work on developing a low-cost each phase and maximizing the
exoskeleton system. I believe that several individuals with mobility-limiting resources available,” he says,
conditions - such as spinal cord injury - would tremendously benefit from a He further adds, “The help of world-
low-cost exoskeleton system of the type developed by ABLE. Developing low- class advisors that have been serial
cost exoskeleton technology without sacrificing quality is a challenge that the entrepreneurs and have many years of
experience commercializing healthcare
engineers at ABLE appear to have handled excellently.”
products has been critical. Working
– Paolo Bonato, Ph.D., Dir. of the Motion Analysis Lab. at Spaulding with industry leaders like Institut
Rehab. Hospital (Boston, USA) and Prof. at Harvard Medical School and Guttmann or Heidelberg University
Wyss Institute. Hospital and having the support of
best-in-class organizations like EIT
“I have tried 3 exoskeletons and only with ABLE I feel like being in control of Health (European Institute of
my walking again.”– Ivan Camps, individual with spinal cord injury. Innovation & Technology), the
European Commission, Bank Sabadell
“ABLE plays by the typical disruption playbook: entering the market with a
or La Caixa Foundation is also a key
radically lower cost solution by reducing features, focusing on a smaller, yet driver to move forward.”
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 high-
performance 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

25 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

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.
26 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com
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
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.

27 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

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.
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.
Meanwhile, for busy RCM teams, responding to confused
patients who have questions about their financial
responsibilities can seem daunting, manual, and time-
consuming. 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
28 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com
added burden on the health system's team members.
However, these technologies require an integrated payments
platform and advanced data analytics.
What Does Success Look Like?
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.
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.
 Incorporating Human Sense in Artificial Intelligence
M 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.
30 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com
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
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 long-
standing partnerships with hospitals
and renowned medical centers.

Moreover, we are one of the first in large datasets and consistently

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 post-
provide precise observations and Mark-Jan Harte
measurements.
Co-Founder and CEO
In healthcare, there is a huge
opportunity to apply this power for the

market surveillance processes.
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
“
benefit of all. AI devices can automate Our
the basic and tedious tasks that
clinicians perform daily. This allows
deep-learning
them to focus on complex solutions are
interpretation tasks and make more
data-driven and accurate follow-up
decisions.
tailored around
the needs and
input of clinical
“
Taking into consideration the
current pandemic, and its impact on
specialists.
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

31 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

strength, motivation, and flexibility of our purpose-driven Exhibiting Excellence
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 Dr James Shambrock, Consultant
lunches and celebrations of milestones. I believe we are Cardiothoracic Radiologist at University
coming out stronger from the pandemic. Hospital Southampton, on the value we
add to lung cancer screening in the UK:
How do you plan to scale your company and/or its
operations in 2021? “Scale and precision are of utmost
importance for making the Lung Health
Aidence has raised €12.5 million to date with top tier VC Check programme a success, and we
funds backing. Based on our current outlook, we expect a
see Aidence as a valuable partner for
successful series B by the end of 2021.
the years to come.”
With new grants and investments, we will further improve
Veye Chest and deploy it across Europe and soon the US Dr Paul Algra at Northwest Clinics in
(once we obtain the FDA clearance). In the short term, we the Netherlands on using Veye Chest:
will expand our suite of clinical applications with models
“Veye allows us to read scans at a high
for COVID-19 and coronary artery calcification.
pace with the confidence of not
Our focus is increasingly on different stages of the missing anything.”
oncology pathway, including treatment response
assessment. We thus plan to build functionalities beyond
medical imaging.

32 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

Tech Timeline

34 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com

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
36 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com
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.
The 10 Most Disruptive MedTech Innovators for 2021
C R E AV OTransforming Future of Cardiology with
Promethean Technology
T 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 technol-
ogy 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 environ-
ment opening a whole new diagnostic field to medical
professionals.
The first application of Creavo’s Corsens® technology is
intended to help physicians in busy Emergency Depart-
ments 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.
“Current practice, quite rightly, treats all patients as if they
are having a heart attack until proven otherwise, a process
38 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com
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.
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.”
“The wider MedTech industry has supported these teams in
developing diagnostic technologies and vaccines in record
 “
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. Steve Parker, CEO

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 post-
hospital 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.
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.

39 | April 2021 | www.insightscare.com