Meet the start-up: Biobeat

The team at Biobeat took some time to speak to Med-Tech Innovation News about its offering.

Tell us about your company. When did you establish yourself and what do you offer?

Founded in 2014, Biobeat is an Israeli developer of advanced wearable AI-powered remote patient monitoring (RPM) solutions for hospitals, long-term care and pharma/CRO drug development & clinical trials. Used by healthcare facilities across the world, Biobeat’s patient monitors (wearable wrist and chest monitors) continuously collect patient health data (128 data points per second and more than 150 million individual data points per day) to empower health teams by providing a real-time accurate view of patient status. Biobeat utilises AI, Big Data and patient analysis to support health teams in providing optimal care to patients while minimising the risk of infectious viral exposure from in-person spot-checks.

Where did the idea for your start-up come from?

Arik Ben Ishay, CEO and co-founder of Biobeat, is a volunteer paramedic with MDA, Israel’s National Emergency Pre-Hospital Medical and Blood Services Organisation. Arik also served as a paramedic for one of the Israeli Defense Force’s active combat units during the Israel-Gaza conflict of 2014, also known as “Operation Protective Edge.” In the aftermath of one heated clash, there were 32 injured soldiers who required immediate medical attention. As Arik moved from one soldier to the next, he found himself struggling to monitor their vital signs, as there was no field-ready monitoring equipment available at the time. Addressing this need, Arik partnered with Johanan May and Israel Sarussi (CTO and VP R&D, respectively) to co-found Biobeat and provide advanced patient monitoring solutions to the healthcare continuum. Using Israel’s expert knowledge of reflective photoplethysmography (PPG) technology, Biobeat soon transformed from a garage start-up into a provider of hospital grade remote patient monitoring solutions. 

What difference do you think you can make in your sector? 

While our AI-powered wearable remote patient monitoring solution can be used throughout multiple facets of healthcare, it is mainly implemented within hospitals and long-term care settings, as well clinical/pharma research purposes. The real-time patient health data provided by our system empowers healthcare providers and medical staff with immediate actionable patient insights, allowing them to apply the right care at the right time for improved patient outcomes. 

Tell us more about the technology at the centre of your product and service?

Biobeat has developed a single wearable, wireless, non-invasive sensor (either a wrist or chest-monitor), based on reflective photoplethysmography (PPG) technology, to collectively measure blood pressure, blood saturation, respiratory rate, one lead ECG (chest-monitor only), mean arterial pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, stroke volume, cardiac output, cardiac index, systemic vascular resistance, sweat and movement.

Biobeat also offers an AI cloud-based patient management system which provides medical staff with real-time data and alerts, enabling early identification of clinical deterioration to help prioritise patient care. Biobeat sensors collect millions of data-points per patient per day, which is then analysed by Biobeat’s health-AI and machine learning algorithms to provide actionable insights on patient care. 

Who have you had to work with to establish your product/service? 

Biobeat’s medical devices and patient management system were developed in-house by the company’s founders and development team.