Introduction
It was through Star Trek I first came across an innovative medical device known as the ‘Tricorder’ which would quickly assess a patient's vital signs, diagnose illnesses, and analyse medical conditions, that too just using a hand-held medical calculator of sorts. It may sound weird but as a teenager it would excite me to see something beyond a stethoscope or a BP checking machine. It was as if I landed into 2050 and there’s this completely advanced version of every manual activity being automated and how.
There’s this scene where Captain Kirk is split into two entities, and Dr. Mccoy uses his transcorder to analyse the medical health of both entities in order to treat and gain Captain Kirk’s original body back. The scene follows a close-up on the tricorder's screen, displaying a cascade of medical data along with a medium shot of McCoy as he scans both versions of Captain Kirk while the tricorder's gentle hum fills the air.
The beauty about such creative screenplays is how they infuse our real-world medical constraints with high-tech imagination to possibly create a solution which would not only attract the audiences but also help experts visualise futuristic solutions. Competitions worth millions have already been created where researchers can submit their versions of real-life tricorders.
In today’s rapidly evolving landscape of business and technology, the growth of Indian Health Tech companies is of paramount importance. India, with its vast population and diverse dataset for medical purposes, presents a unique and untapped market for health technology solutions. Moreover, the country faces significant challenges, such as a high rate of malnutrition, which further emphasises the need for innovative and accessible healthcare solutions.
The potential for Indian Health Tech companies to thrive in this landscape is immense. The sheer scale of the market, combined with the increasing adoption of technology across various sectors, creates a fertile ground for growth and innovation. With the right approach and strategic investments, these companies can address the pressing healthcare needs of millions, providing personalised and efficient solutions.
Furthermore, the availability of diverse medical data sets in India opens up exciting opportunities for research, analysis, and the development of data-driven healthcare solutions. In this article, we take a look at the immense potential of some Indian Health Tech companies, shedding light on their role in shaping the prospective medical landscape.
Pulse-ive Technology: Riding the Wave of Remote Patient Monitoring
What do they do?
Dozee, a bengaluru based health-tech start-up is revolutionising health technology by offering an AI-based patient monitoring system for healthcare providers. Their innovative software empowers hospital administrators to efficiently track and monitor early warning symptoms, providing a proactive approach to patient care. Dozee’s technology conceptually is very similar to the bio-beds that have been featured throughout the Star Trek Series.
What are they solving for?
By leveraging Dozee's technology for preventive healthcare, doctors can improve patient outcomes by detecting early warning signs of deterioration and intervening before critical conditions arise. This proactive approach not only saves lives but also reduces the burden on healthcare facilities and improves overall efficiency in the delivery of care.
Design Perspective
In terms of digital design, their software integration allows seamless incorporation into existing healthcare systems and workflows. This essentially means that Dozee’s software architecture is such that it can be customised by any and every hospital’s operating system as per the needs and collaborations. This compatibility ensures that healthcare providers can adopt the technology without disruption, enhancing its accessibility and usability.
Dont track your insurance, let your insurance track you!
What do they do?
GOQii, an Indian start-up founded in 2014 and headquartered in the US, has made significant contributions to the healthtech landscape in India, offering innovative solutions that have positively impacted people's lives across the country. The company’s Smart Health Ecosystem integrates tools for real-time personalised coaching. The data collected by their wearable devices like bands etc. is integrated into the Goqii app, allowing people to track their progress, set goals, and make positive lifestyle changes.
What are they solving for?
The company’s primary consumer ecosystem is based on incentivizing healthcare and creating a holistic approach to wellness, combining wearable devices and personalised coaching. Their collaborations with insurance and healthcare professionals to provide an all-round service platform for health needs creates the sense of a one-app services away from their entire health regime
Design Perspective
In terms of design, the company offers healthcare services in the form of their mobile-based app which consists of integrated tools including real time coaching, check-ups scheduling, an e-commerce store , a health locker and an inbuilt OTT kind of ecosystem to conduct sessions and workshops. A breakdown of their positive user journey features has been listed below.
GOQii Personalized Coaching: GOQii's platform likely provides a personalised coaching experience, where users receive tailored guidance through one-on-one interaction from fitness experts.
GOQii Cash Program: The inclusion of the ‘GOQii Cash’ program, where healthy behaviour is rewarded with cash discounts and insurance discounts, can create a gamified and motivating user experience. Users may feel incentivized to engage with the platform, track their progress, and achieve their health goals to earn rewards.
GOQii Play: The integration of live coaching by experts on GOQii Play, the health OTT platform, provides access to valuable content and expertise shared by industry professionals.
An Algo which creates ‘surge’ for the good
What do they do?
Algotech Surgical Systems is another start-up that has made significant contributions to the healthtech landscape with its innovative solutions and unique differentiators. It specialises in the development of robotic surgical systems that enable precise and minimally invasive procedures. One of their key differentiators is their robotic surgical system, which combines advanced technology with surgical expertise to enhance surgical precision and patient outcomes.
What are they solving for?
Algotech aims to make robotic surgery accessible to a broader range of healthcare facilities and patients. By offering cost-effective solutions without compromising on quality and performance, they address the challenge of affordability, making their technology more accessible to hospitals and healthcare providers. Their systems provide surgeons with enhanced visualisation, dexterity, and control during complex procedures, allowing for more precise and efficient surgeries.
Design Perspective
Algotech’s team is collaboratively researching with Orthopaedic Surgeons to curate a cloud based software platform for X-ray based 3D surgery planning which is specific to every patient. This essentially means that the expensive hands of a doctor might be reduced to a mere manual intervention as a more efficient surgeon in the form of a robotic system would reduce the invasiveness of surgical procedures, minimising scarring, and accelerating patient recovery. This only shows how design is intelligence made visible in execution.
Exploring the Mediverse: How the Metaverse infuses with medicine
What do they do?
Immertive Pvt. Ltd, based in Hyderabad, is a company that specialises in leveraging VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), and MR (Mixed Reality) technologies to deliver a versatile range of services in the healthcare sector. The company creates medical animation using 3D visuals and 360-degree videos for industrial purposes. These visualisations enhance understanding and communication in the healthcare field, allowing for clearer representation of complex medical concepts, surgical procedures, and patient education materials.
What are they solving for?
Their contributions to the health landscape in India are enhancing medical education and training, utilising medical animation for clearer communication, and developing VR-based products tailored to the healthcare industry. Through their innovative use of immersive technologies, they are making a significant impact on healthcare practices, education, and patient care for the country.
Design Perspective
Immertive is designing and creating highly advanced medical simulators using AR and VR. In addition to medical simulators, it also specialises in medical animation using 3D visuals and 360-degree videos. They leverage these technologies to create visually engaging content that can effectively communicate complex medical concepts, surgical procedures, and patient education materials. This design process brings the saying “The function of design is letting it function” to life, in the most engaging way possible.
Can data really cure cancer?
What do they do?
SigTuple is a healthcare analytics company specialising in AI-powered diagnostic solutions. They have developed a machine learning platform called Manthan, which aims to extract valuable insights from healthcare. Their primary focus on developing automated solutions for medical image analysis, leveraging AI algorithms to provide accurate and efficient diagnosis. They offer a range of solutions for various healthcare applications, including blood cell analysis, urine microscopy, retinal scans, and more.
What are they solving for?
The problem SigTuple is solving lies in the manual and time-consuming nature of traditional diagnostic processes. The interpretation of medical images often requires extensive human involvement, leading to delays in diagnosis and potential errors. SigTuple's technology addresses this challenge by automating the analysis of medical images, enabling faster and more precise diagnostic outcomes. By reducing the burden on healthcare professionals and improving efficiency, SigTuple's solutions contribute to timely and effective patient care.
Design Perspective
Their platform is designed with a focus on usability, ensuring that healthcare professionals can easily integrate the technology into their existing workflows. The intuitive user interface and streamlined processes enable efficient interaction with the system, enhancing productivity and reducing the learning curve. Furthermore, SigTuple emphasises the importance of data privacy and security in their design approach, ensuring the protection of sensitive patient information. By considering design principles, SigTuple aims to enhance user adoption and acceptance of their technology, ultimately improving healthcare outcomes through automated medical image analysis.
Conclusion
“In the realm of medicine, technology holds the power to turn the tides between life and death”
Healthcare is compassionate capitalism that can alter people’s lives. As someone who comes from a material engineering space and is now working in the UX design space, these companies represent how design is being engineered to solve problems in the field of science and technology. Design technology is a catalyst for innovation in medical science, allowing for the development of novel solutions to complex healthcare challenges. It enables the exploration of new materials, technologies, and approaches, leading to groundbreaking advancements in medical treatments, interventions, and therapies. There are start-ups like Niramai Health Analytix that specialise in the development of innovative and non-invasive technologies for early detection of breast cancer with the help of AI based tools. Hence, the precision and accurate design of medical devices, equipment, and systems becomes even more crucial for accurate diagnoses and effective treatments. By incorporating user-centred design principles, design technology can ensure that medical devices and interfaces are intuitive, easy to use, and enhance the overall healthcare experience. Just as I understand the importance of putting users at the centre of the design process while creating UX, the healthtech landscape is expanding exponentially in terms of innovation through designs and technology. The day is not far when we too would have a handy ‘Transcorder’ of the level of a microprocessor in a hand held device which would enable us to live in the Star Trek Planet, which would be Earth this time.
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