Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2013. All figures are from 2013, including Mobilizer’s funding and sales and Scanadu’s crowdfunding record, so the status of these startups and products may have changed.
A growing number of companies are using technology to carve out a place in the health business, with both hospitals and end users as customers. The biggest problem most of these companies face is the final step: getting approval from the body that regulates the product in each country.
Let’s look at 3 of these companies that we’ve come across in recent months. Their products could become part of the daily lives of millions of people, and with such a large market, they promise to be a very profitable business for the entrepreneurs behind them.
1. Mobilizer Inc.
A startup that promises to save lives. A recent graduate created this product to help sedentary patients, shorten hospital stays and lower the risk of complications such as blood clots and skin ulcers. As a rule, patients hooked up to various machines in hospital can’t get up and carry all that equipment around, so they simply can’t walk, and that’s an added risk when the patient is expected to stay a long time.
With this entrepreneur’s idea, patients can walk around taking all the equipment they’re connected to with them, including heavy oxygen cylinders. The idea has caught on: several funds have invested more than $300,000 in the project, and the company plans to raise another $400,000 next year.
They’ve already sold 100 units to several hospitals, even though each unit currently costs $5,000.
The secret of this business idea’s success is that it doesn’t sell a product but offers a solution, and one that saves money too. The company explains that the invention can reduce the financial and staffing burden on hospital systems, since it also reduces many health risks for patients and keeps them from having to stay in hospital longer, so the investment pays off handsomely for the hospital.
(Source: TechCrunch)
2. Scanadu Scout
This company already holds a historic record after raising $1,378,545 on a crowdfunding platform. The Scanadu is a small, round scanner that reads and records a person’s vital signs and sends them wirelessly to their smartphone. The idea must have struck a real chord with users in need, because it reached its funding goal in record time.
According to the company, this little scanner is like carrying a small emergency room in your pocket. For end users, the next step will be not just to provide data but to help them understand it and know how to act on it, so they can avoid problems and cut down on visits to the doctor.
(Source: TechCrunch)
3. Teddy The Guardian
Like the previous idea, the founders of IDerma have created advanced medical technology aimed at end users, but in this case it’s disguised as a teddy bear and designed for young children.
To a child, Teddy The Guardian will look like any other teddy bear, but this one has built-in sensors that track blood pressure, oxygen saturation, body temperature, heart rate and more, and send the data to the parents’ smartphone. The sensors built into the bear already have FDA and CE approval, so the product can now be sold without any problem.
(Source: TechCrunch)
As we can see, there’s still plenty of room for innovation in healthcare by combining technology and creativity.
Further reading
- 40 of the most profitable business ideas of recent years
- 6 innovative businesses to watch
- 6 futuristic ideas in the fashion business
Featured image: Juhan Sonin, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
