iWell Bio Tracker

Of the 27% deaths from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), 9% are due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This has been mainly attributed to low fruit and vegetable intake, low physical activity, high body mass index (BMI)  and high blood pressure as the most important risk factors in developing CVDs.

Research shows a correlation between urbanization and physical inactivity, high BMI, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Hypertension remains a significant risk factor for developing CVDs. A big problem is that very few people are aware of having hypertension. This means that many people in Uganda and globally are living with uncontrolled high blood pressure levels.

Of the population that is aware of having hypertension, many have to go to their physicians for constant checks with no decentralized means for remote monitoring between visits of vitals. This calls for more decentralized remote monitoring wearable devices between patient visits to physicians, that could be a bridge in detecting escalations.

Proposed solution is the iWell Bio Tracker. Through the iWell tracker, early detection of rise in risk factors of cardiovascular diseases in specific high blood pressure will be detected on time with early management started. This will save over 3 million Ugandans with CardioVascular diseases and the rest of the population that could be at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. The iWell Bio tracker built with medical grade sensors is able to monitor blood pressure, pulse rate, partial saturation of oxygen and temperature with resultant alerts through lights (red, orange & green) and vibrations sent to the patient. This allows as well for remote monitoring with ability to share results with consulting physician at a distance.

This both comes with saving in financing for treatment of complications of cardiovascular diseases such as strokes and will have impact on quality of life of Ugandans. The impact is also scalable to other countries as we grow with the product sold to other African countries.

The solution serves patients with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) and all people who want to keep close eye on their body vitals (open market). Through motion sensors that track physical activity, the solution also serves sports men with monitoring of daily steps, runs and distance covered during daily physical activity.

Potential impact is close monitoring of patients at risk of developing complications from CardioVascular Diseases, this it does through ensuring the patient keeps a close check on their numbers (blood pressure numbers), better management by physicians through either change of drugs or start on drugs to ensure that the diseases are well controlled.

We are a team of 3 co-founders, 2 medics with background in diagnostics and an aerospace engineer who has built several medical products. 

We started a medical facility where we practice and help in reviewing patients on a day to day basis. The facility is called Doctors' Hub Kasenge. Through such daily interaction, we learnt that many of our patients get severe raise in their blood pressure without notice and end in complications such as kidney disease, hypertensive heart disease and strokes, through feeling their plight, we've been inspired to continue their monitoring even when out of hospital by developing the iWell Bio Tracker to alert them incase of abnormally high values.

The tracker can also used by all patients having similar risk factors. 

As such, my team understands the problem because it is out of our experience and plight to solve for these patients and would want to see this product break through and come to the service of patients and ensure close & remote monitoring and better control of patient risk factors to getting cardiovascular complications.

Through such solutions, we shall contribute to the health infrastructure with better usage of such equipment and more impact achieved across the entire landscape. 

Solve would be able to support our project technically through introductions to mentors & experts for a more competitive product with good customer feedback. Solve's financial support would come in helping to complete our prototype and iterate to better versions that can go in for clinical trials.

No existing wearable device is capable of measuring blood pressure, this will be a unique feature to our wrist wearable watch. This will disrupt the market and enable large impact among patients with CardioVascular Diseases and those at risk of developing them.

Once the product is out on the market, we plan to roll out the devices to patients and tracking alerts and subsequent follow up. This will communicate the impact we're having. 

We plan to roll out at-least 1,000 devices to 1,000 patients to measure potential impact.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will include;

1. Number of timely alerts

2. Number of patients managed better based on alerts

3. Number of patients with successfully controlled NCDs based on iWell Bio tracking

4. Number of remote monitoring consults made with positive results.

THEORY OF CHANGE

Activities;

• Develop a wearable product for tracking
• Distribute the devices to patients
• Monitor and track patients with Non-Communicable Diseases

Output: 

• Complete prototype developed and deployed

IMPACT: Better patient management for Non-Communicable Diseases

Our wearable uses medical grade sensors, these include blood pressure sensors, pulse rate sensors, temperature sensors and partial saturation of oxygen sensors. These sorts the patient data collected and categorically classify them with resultant alerts to the patient incase of abnormal values. 

The alerts are inform of lights (red for high risk - patient to seek medical attention, orange for moderately elevated - to remotely consult medical person, green - all is well to continue on regimes as advised by physician).

The device also has vibrations for the category of red. This pushes the patient to seek for medical attention.  

We're still under development, we shall share links to Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and any research to be done. 

We want to run as a Hybrid both for Impact & for Profit. 

We hold patients' plight to our hearts and solve for the many patients we receive developing CardioVascular Complications. Through developing for and with the patients, we bring a human centered product that strikes a balance for impact and sustainability. 

Our product is being built to fit in all communities ranging from low resource to high resource areas with inclusion of all at the heart of development. 

We have a team of 2 full time diagnostic experts and 1 full time aerospace engineer who has developed many medical products. We are supported by 1 part time electrical engineer, 1 part time biomedical engineer, 1 part time mechatronics engineer and 2 part time software developers (Back end and front end).

We generate revenue through;

1. Direct sale of devices at US$2,000 per device.

2. Cost sharing model with US$1 per patient scanned using our device

3. Subscription model at US$8 per device per day

Through the above models, our devices scan at-least 20 mothers per day, and currently we've so far scanned at-least 1,500 pregnant women, and project to deploy at-least 100 machines on a subscription model.

We are scaling our services & products through deploying more machines on the subscription model, we are now officially into partnership with a distributor across Africa marketing our products to 19 African countries. 

Through partnerships with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD),we are increasing our networks to raise more grants to act as bridge funds. We've been had introductions to funders such as Bill & Melinda gates foundation.

We've generated at-least US$50,000 from sales of our products and services.

We've recently raised funding through a partnership with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).