VirusIQ

1. We need universal public health risk mitigation strategies and tools translated to keep our world safe beyond politics, beyond borders and beyond COVID. 

2. Universal  virus risk mitigation modular software platform using predictive analytics for use by community members and businesses. A platform that performs screening, education and informs of risk zones. A modular solution capable of incorporating existing local solutions and providing added modules to fill the gap such that a comprehensive public health digital infrastructure is created. 

3. Our solution enables local capacity building and engagement. Furthermore, as a digital solution that is capable of rapidly scaling it has the capacity for early detection, prevention and containment of a virus. The screening platform would save lives by reducing virus transmission and  reduce healthcare costs by offering a inexpensive remote home care enabled with communication to and data-driven resource allocation by local health systems. 

Problem: The lack of a universal rapidly scalable reporting, testing and educational tool that is both consumer, business and government facing to enable early detection, prevention, containment and education. A consumer and business facing private, secure and safe solution that can solve for a virus disease from a little outbreak to an epidemic or pandemic. 

Numbers: The COVID-19 problem is global. We know from the John Hopkins dataset as of 17 June 2020 there are approximately 8.2M confirmed cases and 445K deaths globally. The data provided is only for those tested, which is approximately 20% of those with the disease. 

Factors: Thus much of the community transmission is occurring through that from “asymptomatic” or mild to moderate cases.  The lack of a digital screening test that everybody has access to globally is impeding our data collection, health resource allocation and a coordinated effort for early detection, prevention and containment. Reopening of cities prior to putting in place established screening routines is causing second waves of disease such as in Shulan & Beijing. We know that even open societies such as Sweden have failed to reach herd immunity levels that are protective.

Our solution is a modular screening platform comprised of modules either developed in-house or through collaborations;

1. Self-reported screening survey. We have implemented a clinical algorithm reviewed and cleared by the US FDA. 

   1. The data analytics team are performing disease modelling and developing a risk scoring system. 

2. Contact tracing. We have a digitised version of the manual contact tracing. We  supplement the DP-3T bluetooth based solution such as the Swiss COVIDapp. 

3. Virus Risk map. Our GIS engineer will focus on locations where we perform our pilots to populate a risk map with screening and testing result data. 

4. Telemedicine. We have developed telemedicine technology. Now we are recruiting physicians to provide the service.

   1. We are working with the Stanford Biodesign team “Nightingale” to provide nursing home care using telemedicine. 

5. Our BioIQ lab is our “dry diagnostics” lab where we are using machine learning to develop a mobile thermal scanner, audiotype voice/cough/breathing data and to develop a model for vital signs, like heart rate. 

6. Through strategic alliances we are adding identity verification, digital health pass and testing access. 

Our screening platform is end-to-end for virus detection, education and healthcare provider communication.  Our solution incorporates screening into the testing, tracing, and supported isolation paradigm.

Our solution serves businesses and governments (“clients”) to allow their patrons, employees, and staff (“end users”) to perform their daily duties without the risk of acquiring or spreading infections. Our solution is B2B and B2G oriented to allow mass screening. VirusIQ will provide the screening, education, and assessment of viral infections. This aids society by screening as many individuals as possible, mitigating risk, which helps to reduce transmission rates in their communities.

De-identified data from end user screenings is used to prepare risk analyses for clients, reducing their legal risk and informing their health and safety decisions.  Our target customers are specific industries where our solution can be rapidly integrated to effectively screen the most number of individuals possible, including: event-management, universities, airlines, and healthcare institutions. 

To understand needs, we have a two-pronged strategy: researching the impacts of COVID-19 for these institutions and conducting interviews with representatives to assess their current situation. 

Institutions want to optimize their workforce and services to build financial resilience, protect their staff and patrons and have a positive impact on society. 

People can conduct their activities without the fear of being infected or spreading infections to others (risk mitigation tool). Additionally, consumer confidence will increase. 

Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience (authored by Harvard University staff and colleagues) stated testing, tracing and supported isolation is required for reopening. We add "screening" is the start of a systematic process that requires a feedback loop. A proposal by Senator Lamar Alexander (US) outlines the legislation and funding available yet inadequate coordination and distribution. 

Our platform is the key risk mitigating strategy - a population digital health screening service by a non-political universal platform that is driven to protect individual privacy & security rights. We are working with MIT contact tracing privacy group to develop a data protection framework.

We ideated this solution in January 2020 before any other entrant on the market. As part of this we developed a clinical algorithm that has been reviewed and cleared by the US FDA. It is not considered a medical device and for speed of development we have sought to maintain our product as such.

Our solution is innovative because we have a proprietary solution (provisional patent-filed and pending application). We have filed a provisional utility patent for the development of a mobile temperature scanner and to perform audiotyping of cough, voice and breathing using CNNs and other proprietary elements.  No other solution can have IP over the biomarkers and duplicate our solution. 

Our solution is different since we go beyond simple screening tests, but also do risk scoring, contact tracing, virus risk mapping, telemedicine, dry-lab diagnostics, and identification protection. Whereas most solutions simply provide a binary output (at risk or not), VirusIQ provides risk assessment, awareness, risk mitigation, and pathway for treatment (telemedicine).

There are several competitors with rudimentary screening unlike our detailed screening: Apple’s COVID-19 screening tool (https://www.apple.com/covid19/), UAMS screening (https://uamshealth.com/healthnow/covid-19-screening/), Project Baseline (https://www.projectbaseline.com/study/covid-19/), and Spectrum Health (https://www.spectrumhealth.org/covid19). 

There are many other active players in the field, but those are diagnostic or antibody tests, who we are working to collaborate with. 

Most other solutions do not have a combination of the features and do not provide a comprehensive solution to viral infections developed by a physician with specialist expertise in the field. 

NodeJS is used for backend technology. Below are the benefits of choosing the technology. Various libraries and internal security features have been used to secure the api, data, authorization and authentication and attacks. 

• Robust technology stack

• Fast-processing and event-based model

• Scalable technology for microservices

• Rich ecosystem

• Strong corporate support

• Seamless JSON support

• High Availability

Serverless Aurora PostgreSql is used for the database. All the data saved here is encrypted and secured. Below are positive things with PostgreSql,

• Open Source DBMS

• Diverse Community

• High support for functions

• PostgreSQL supports ACID(Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability).

• Diverse indexing techniques

• Flexible Full-text search

• Diverse kinds of replication

• Diversified extension functions

All the web portals(Admin Portal, User Web, Physician Web) are built on the latest Angular 9.x version. The web solutions are been built and deployed on Amazon S3 buckets which is HIPAA compliant and also provides high level security. 

Android is built with Rx java, Java and Android framework api’s. The apk uploaded to the store is encrypted with  progard and standard android V1 and V2 certificate signature verification.

iOS is built on Swift technology and iOS framework api’s. Apple already provides a high security for the application uploaded on store.

Third Party Library, tools and technologies used,

• AWS S3 bucket : For web deployments and file upload and storage

• AWS API Gateways : To receive the incoming API and highly secured

• AWS EC2 cloud instances and application hosting

• Zoom Integration with latest library version 1.7.8 supported by zoom

• AWS guard for securing the application

• AWS SNS service to send sms

• Firebase for Push notification services

NodeJS, Postgresql and angularJs are being used widely in the market and have been used by major technology companies like Netflix, Linkedin, Walmart, Trello, Uber, PayPal, eBay, NASA and many more. AWS Aurora is an AWS supported database and provides wide support while different technology giants use it.

The VirusIQ app, powered by our FDA-approved clinical algorithm, provides the following services: 1) digital screening and “dry-lab” diagnostics, 2) contact tracing and risk mapping, and 3) education and telemedicine. VirusIQ’s digital screening test arms patients with personal health information that informs their decisions on whether to attend work, events, etc. 

Our contact tracing and risk analytics and mapping services increase awareness of the level of safety of various events or locations in communities. VirusIQ educational resources and telemedicine ensure patients receive timely care wherever they are and better understand their personalized health risks and needs. Screening and contact tracing are proven, inexpensive ways of limiting disease transmission and more effectively allocating resources through risk stratification. 

 In the short-run, these activities and outputs will enable early disease detection, prevention, and containment. It will also aid governments, businesses, and organizations in their decisions on whether and how to “open up” safely and efficiently. VirusIQ will give these organizations a clear picture of whether it is safe to hold their events or bring employees back to work, and will minimize their legal risk, as investing in health and safety is no longer an optional expense. VirusIQ also improves health outcomes and limits unnecessary health spending by providing telemedicine and educational resources to those who need it, when they need it.

In the long-run, the VirusIQ app will lead the way in making patient-centric, simpler, faster, inexpensive, and flexible digital solutions the norm in healthcare. This platform will improve population health, increase economic stability and prosperity, and prepare the world for future pandemics and crises.

At present - 300 people

In one year - ~10 million 

In five years - ~1 billion

In the next year we hope to gather country and business partnerships to roll out our covid related virus screening algorithms. 

We hope in doing this to be able to provide access to individuals whom previously had limited access to healthcare either due to cost or physical inaccessibility. 

Within the next five years we hope to establish a universal platform that addresses not just COVID but other viral diseases that may be endemic to a region or that may be a new outbreak. 

We hope with our work to establish strong partnerships and collaborations with key stakeholders including but not limited to community stewards, local healthcare systems, regional governance and public health authorities and global organisations. 

Financial barriers - we are currently self-funded and as can be expected this places significant constraints on the amount of time and staff we are able to resource. 

Technical - some of our innovations such as the mobile thermal scan requires significant R&D, including data and human resources, and it may still be a moonshot. This said if we can develop this tool it will be invaluable not just in virus disease diagnostics but other diseases. 

Legal - we have to ensure compliance with various legislation as per jurisdiction and comply with privacy regulations. 

Cultural - a global tool needs to be multi-lingual and UI/UX translated to meet local cultural expectations and understanding. Each jurisdiction needs dedicated education and marketing teams to improve health and screening literacy. 

Market barriers - Google PlayStore and Apple AppStore have blocked us. The app that is currently in the Apple AppStore is from April 2020 and they have blocked future upgrades. Both companies insist that we are affiliate with a government or university. This may not be a barrier if MIT helps us but at present being registered as a health entity and having documentation of US FDA clearing our algorithm is not enough to gain approval by Google and Apple AppStore. The US House subcomittee on anti-trust was interested in our submission for their investigation. 

1. Financial - fundraising

2. Technical - hire engineers with the skillset and mindset to overcome the challenges

3. Legal - hire in-house legal counsel or use external counsel to ensure we achieve compliance and certifications. 

4. Cultural - hire regional teams to aid with multi-lingual development and distribution. 

5. Market - affiliate with government and universities. 

Full-time - 1 staff (CEO)

Contractors - 24 staff (security, data analytics, product engineering, marketing & media team)

Team slides

As you can see from our team slide we have the medical background and then each team member has the relevant background, skills and passion to execute. 

Oxford University Innovation who have provided incubator space and resources. 

Aventri - events SAAS platform who are a channel partner to enable distribution and are providing marketing assistance. 

Nightingale early stage venture - telemedicine partner to provide nursing home care. 

Vizient - we are in discussions to see if they can be a channel partner in healthcare and with universities. 

LabCorp, Quest and Bioreference - we are in discussions regarding alliance for testing and analytics. 

Others include Identity Key, CoviPass, Alysida Health. 

B2C (currently paused) - freemium with subscription

B2B - distribution model leveraging tech to tech partnerships. Monetization through package pricing or monthly subscription. 

Slide 12 of our presentation details our lean canvas. MIT Solve presentation

We hope to achieve financial sustainability through grant funding and achieving revenue from sale of our product. 

As per slide 11 of our presentation - MIT Solve presentation

We hope to be able to make our product accessible beyond the event market. But for conservative projections, if we are able to capture ~10% of our events partners market this will equate to 6.4M users annually which at a price point of $20/user/package we should be able to generate $120M in revenue per year. To be conservative our Director of Finance has used an estimate of 100 000 monthly users in 9 months. 

We are applying to solve for funding, and in particular to access the prizes. We are also seeking alliances and guidance from technology and business experts. 

We are working to solve for a global crisis and this will take more than our small team to achieve. As such we hope success and alliance with MIT Solve will enable us to have greater growth, scalability and reach. 

We hope to achieve high level partnerships that can enable government and institutional alliances and distribution. 

Strategic alliances with companies in tech and similar fields (i.e. telemedicine) gives VirusIQ access distribution channels, achieve cost savings through economies of scale, and help us all to collectively build the digital public health ecosystem.

Daily mass screening through government partnership will help improve risk prediction and analytics. Partnership with Public Health & Global organisations will help us better understand and serve public health and safety needs. 

We understand the time-sensitivity of the current pandemic balanced by the need to produce a sustainable solution beyond borders, beyond politics and beyond covid. To achieve this we will need to seek strategic partnerships in the global markets that are open to us or can be opened for us. 

VirusIQ prioritizes partnerships and believes that we can make a more significant impact working with collaborators. VirusIQ is scalable, interoperable, and can plug-in seamlessly to support our partners’ existing initiatives. 

Governments: US federal, state, and local governments; Canadian, European, and other international governments. We can support their efforts to prevent the spread of disease,  reopen their jurisdictions, and integrate with existing initiatives. 

Public health organizations: We can integrate directly into public health infrastructure and into risk mitigation planning processes. 

International organizations: Includes multilateral organizations, intergovernmental organizations, global health and security institutions, and non-governmental organizations. 

Universities: Education facilities are facing significant financial hardship. We can help them make informed decisions and collaborate for public good. 

Tech: We are actively pursuing partnerships with national or global tech companies working in event management, telemedicine for nursing care and a major GPO and performance improvement company.  

Insurance, hospitals, and family physicians: We need to partner with healthcare providers and insurers to provide continuity of care, staff our telemedicine services, and to be the “human” in the loop for their local citizens. 

MIT potential partners:

Alex `Sandy’ Pentland directs MIT’s Human Dynamics Laboratory and the MIT Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program, co-leads the World Economic Forum Big Data and Personal Data initiatives.Partnership to gain greater insight into human dynamics that may not be reflected in big data analyses, or AI algorithms, that effect compliance or non-compliance with health directives and requirements. https://executive-mit-edu.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/faculty/profile/alex-pentland 

 Jeff Jonas, CEO and Chief Scientist of Senzing. https://senzing.com/about/  handling and refining AI/ML analyses.

VirusIQ was developed by a physician in January 2020 to prevent the global pandemic. She predicted the impending crisis that has crippled healthcare systems, economies and caused unimaginable loss to the frontline healthcare workforce. 

In public health there is an old adage that we need emergency systems to rescue people, but importantly we need education and sustainable solutions to prevent the emergency from happening in the first place. 

VirusIQ is designed to both prevent and rescue our heroes. We are willing to work behind the scenes with white-labelled solutions and in collaboration with other entities to ensure that the global population has access to a daily screening tool. That this information is kept safely with the intention of protecting individual privacy and security. We do want to use the information for predictive risk analytics to not only read the current risk but future risk. 

We want to decrease the risk of transmission and save lives both individual patients and that of frontline staff. You shouldn't have to go to work as a healthcare worker and risk your life when we have technological capabilities to prevent these deaths and traumatizing circumstances. 

VirusIQ affords an inexpensive solution to provide at home care. The triage of patients can reduce the burden on the healthcare system and allow data-driven decision making to appropriately distribute resources. The world is still not out of the woods and we need funding to grow and scale the VirusIQ solution to save lives and save our interdependent economies. 

We are using disease metrics and machine learning models for assessment of the risk. We are building a risk score that evaluates and identifies symptoms that are highest to be considered when it comes to assessment of Covid19 Transmission. 

We are using multiple algorithms to determine the feature importance and find the most important features which can be used to determine the safety susceptibility score or the risk score. The risk score is weighted component based on the results of statistical methodologies and mathematical models to determine the risk level. We are building a cumulative score similar to LACE.

In addition as per our provisional patent we are using machine learning and other AI techniques to perform R&D to develop a mobile thermal scanner and use of a mobile phone for cough, voice and breathing analysis to "audiotype" viruses. 

VirusIQ is the ideal candidate for the Future Planet Capital Prize. We are a for-profit company that is highly scalable. Our modular, flexible SaaS solution is inexpensive to provide at scale and is easy for customers to download and use. We devised the concept in January 2020 for early detection, prevention and containment. Now in July 2020, we have adapted to assist businesses with reopening safely. We have a sustainable future in digital health as we develop our core risk prediction analytics to prevent future pandemics. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, VirusIQ would benefit virtually the entire global population, and amid the new-normal that is bound to follow our solution has the potential to benefit millions if not billions of customers. There are over 200 million major events per year, over 4 billion airline passengers per year, over 215 million university students around the world, and over 125 million medical facilities. 

We envision a safer world where preventative, digital health is the norm - event management companies would require guests to be screened before attending major events, airlines would require passengers to be screened before getting to the airport, universities would require students to be screened before arriving on campus, medical facilities would require patients to be screened to effectively triage, and individuals would take charge of their care and keep their communities safe by engaging in regular screenings, contact tracing, and telemedicine.  

Any one of the above mentioned long-term cultural shifts will lead to millions if not billions of customers for VirusIQ, and in the meantime almost anyone could benefit from our platform.