We analyzed 103 medical sensor solutions, Oxehealth, Ospicon, Often Medical, VitalTracer & OutSense develop 5 top solutions. Learn more in our Global Startup Heat Map!
Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on solutions for the healthcare sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we want to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising optical medical sensor solutions.
Heat Map: 5 Top Medical Sensor Solutions
For our 5 top picks, we used a data-driven startup scouting approach to identify the most relevant solutions globally. The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 interesting examples out of 103 relevant solutions. Depending on your specific needs, your top picks might look entirely different.
VitalTracer – Wearable Sensor
Optical biosensors for mobile and wearable devices allow for a variety of measurements such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation, temperature, heartbeat, and other metabolic activities. The technology is usually based on the optical measurement of blood flow under the skin where it interacts with coherent and non-coherent light sources, which can be absorbed, reflected, and scattered or dispersed, altering the sensor signal accuracy. These wearable sensors provide vital information about biological changes in the body while monitoring the ongoing treatment for cardiovascular, neurological, and pulmonary disorders, for example, asthma, hypertension, etc.
The Canadian startup VitalTracer develops a smartwatch that measures the body’s vital signs and thereby detect different disease and conditions. The watch collects information about respiratory rates, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and additionally detects falls & irregular heartbeat, analyzes sleep & detects sleep apnea, among other features.
Oxehealth – Environment Sensor
Intelligent optical sensors use advanced technology to detect movements and the position of a human’s body in a room. These sensors are able to differentiate between everyday movements and emergency cases – a sudden change in the position could be a fall, for example. This type of continuous monitoring is useful in hospitals, where nurses can’t be present in each room all the time or at home, were elderly people or people with disabilities incl. heavy hearing, deafness, limited mobility, etc. live alone.
The technology of UK-based startup Oxehealth measures pulse rate, breathing rate, and activity using proprietary algorithms that harness deep learning, computer vision, and signal processing techniques. Secure optical sensors are used to measure vital signs from right across a room and generates alerts if assistance is needed. The company’s Digital Care Assistant helps staff in mental health facilities, acute hospitals, and home care settings.
Often Medical – Fiber Optics Sensor
More prevalent applications of fiber optics in healthcare include the imaging and illumination components of endoscopes or other instruments, which are used to visualize internal organs and tissues, diagnostics or other procedures. Whether as an independent sensor or part of an integrated component, fiber optic sensing systems provide more detailed and reliable feedback for procedures.
Often Medical, a company from Italy, works on Guido, a kit for epidural anesthesia based on optical fiber technology. The kit allows for real-time monitoring of the epidural catheter placement and provides guidance of the needle until it reaches the epidural space, where it verifies the correct placement of the catheter. Fiber optic sensors achieve this by taking real-time measurements of tissue pressure at the tip of the needle during penetration.
OutSense – Internet of Things Sensor
Optical devices measure and sense a range of conditions without physical contact, which makes them very valuable for home care. Sensors and connectivity are primary components for meeting these requirements, allowing for efficient & effective healthcare anywhere via the Internet of Things (IoT).
The Israeli startup OutSense develops an IoT sensor for the early detection of illness and for wellness monitoring. Their clip-on sensor is mounted on a toilet seat and utilizes a special optical setup, a data acquisition board, connectivity, and a mobile application. The sensor automatically scans every stool sample to trace blood in the stool – contactless.
Ospicon – Breathing Sensor
Breathing analysis tools require a solution for long-term monitoring to better analyze and interpret results. A fiber-optic fabric-based sensor system is suited for long-term monitoring due to its enhanced comfort and versatility. Combined with advanced algorithms and machine learning technologies, these sensors create a continuous remote patient monitoring system.
Ospicon, based in Singapore, fashion the Sleep-Mat – a baby sleep monitor using fiber-optic sensors that detect an infant’s breath count and captures its breathing pattern. A sensor control system further detects all movements and if there is irregular or unusual breathing acitivity, an alert will be sent to the caregiver via the supporting smartphone app.
What About The Other 98 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence for your Proof of Concept (PoC), partnership, or investment targets. The 5 medical sensor solutions showcased above are promising examples out of 103 we analyzed for this article.
Source: StartUs
