Crowdfunding The Next Healthcare Hit 2
Crowdfunding adds a new route for small entrepreneurs to raise money to develop healthcare inventions and bring them to market. Here are 10 promising products looking to raise money.
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While venture capitalists eye the next healthcare moneymaker, and healthcare startups rush to release new apps and services, another sector is finding a way to bring products to market. Individual entrepreneurs and small developers are flocking to crowdfunding sites to subsidize their new healthcare technologies.
These entrepreneurial doctors, technically savvy nurses, and healthcare-oriented coders want to enter a market expected to generate almost $57 billion by 2017. Crowdfunding sites offer access to money, mindshare, and an immediate barometer of marketability. It's little surprise then that crowdfunding -- which last year alone raised more than $5 billion -- attracts apps, devices, and more designed for healthcare.
In the past, inventors used personal funds, credit cards, and friends to finance their technology dreams. Today, they can mix approaches. "So far, the project has been funded by working extra shifts," said Dr. Charles Rocamboli, founder of startup CureCrowd, in an interview. "We've recently started crowdfunding on Indiegogo, which we think will help twofold. It helps get the word out about the site, and helps us raise money for ongoing development."
"Being a public resource, we hope that crowdfunding and donations will help us as we continue to develop," he added.
If a mere 1% of all the United States' long-term investments transferred to crowdfunding, it would account for $300 billion, Forbes reported. That's 10 times more than all the money venture capitalists poured into deals in 2011, the publication wrote.
Crowdfunders -- the individuals pitching in to support the ventures -- often feel a connection to their investments: Consider the resentment some Kickstarter backers of Oculus voiced when Facebook acquired the virtual reality firm in March. Feelings became so heated that some Oculus employees reported receiving death threats.
But usually, crowdfunding recipients just have to worry about getting funded, and paying a nominal charge to the site. Sites typically charge a fee, such as 4% of the fund, in addition to any credit card or PayPal charge. Crowdfunding sites including Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Appbackr, RocketHub, FunderHut, and GoFundMe each have their own rules.
Some crowdfunding sites, including MedStartr and HealthTechHatch (in partnership with Indiegogo), focus exclusively on healthcare. MedStartr's average successful project raises more than $13,000 immediately and $405,000-plus in the following six months, the company said. Indiegogo doesn't share project data publicly, but written reports suggest about 9.3% of the 142,301 projects completed by August 2013 raised 100% of funds or more. (Indiegogo participants may keep donations, even if a project doesn't get fully funded, if they use the flexible funding option.)
Crowdfunding has become so popular that choosing a site or finding a project to support has become complex. CrowdFunding4All -- aka CF4All -- includes projects from multiple platforms. Registered users amass "CrowdCredits" through various actions, then spend them to endorse projects.
Entrepreneurs can tap the crowd's power for more than money and social support. This is hardly a new concept: Since 1964, SCORE mentors have provided free business planning, mentoring, and other advice to more than 10 million small and midsize businesses (SMBs).
CrowdIt last month added a "Suits" portal for networking, mentorship, and other business services. Accredited professionals, such as attorneys and accountants, create LinkedIn-like profiles to attract entrepreneurs, the company said. Lack of funding is only one reason businesses fail. Other causes include incompetence (46%); lack of experience (30%); insufficient services knowledge (11%); and neglect, fraud, or disaster (1%), CrowdIt says. Some businesses fail because of a poor product or unwanted service, and crowdfunding doesn't make a dumb business idea any better.
We've picked 10 crowdfunded healthcare products we think look like winners. Click through our slideshow to see if you agree and tell us which ones impress you the most in the Comments section below. Would your company consider buying any of these products or services if they come to market?
Doctors don't like spending a lot of time typing, so the Star Trek: The Next Generation-like CommBadge wearable Bluetooth speakerphone could be a good fit for healthcare professionals. With the button-like device for iPhones and Android phones, wearers schedule meetings, access Siri or Google Now, send messages, and make calls without picking up the phone or donning a headset. The CommBadge+ model, pictured, includes an ID badge holder.
Seeking $20,000 on Kickstarter.
There's no shortage of medical information on the Web. Knowing whether it's reputable, reliable, or works is another matter. That's a need CureCrowd hopes to fill. Founded by a physician, the "medically guided" search engine shares user-provided data on treatments via graphs so patients can decide which ones to try for conditions such as insomnia, back pain, and diabetes. Because it's a startup, not all conditions are listed, but users can suggest new ailments.
The free service was built under "certain medical foundations and principles, setting higher standards than other resources," founder Dr. Charles Rocamboli told InformationWeek. Ensuring privacy and fostering trust are two key tenets, he said. For the site to succeed, users must freely share medical conditions and treatments, including marijuana, opioids, and herbal remedies.
"Because of the subject matter of CureCrowd, people and organizations are naturally skeptical of anyone who asks them to use a product. This sentiment is not lost with us, and we understand gaining trust is going to be a full-time job. That means doctors, like myself, talking with and meeting organizations we believe we can help," said Dr. Rocamboli. "We want to work with them directly and allow them to be part of the process and solution. However, we can only help them if they allow us."
Seeking $30,000 on Indiegogo.
Bigger than a smartwatch and smaller than a phone, Rufus Cuff could be a good fit for mobile healthcare professionals who need to look up patient records, communicate, and collaborate on the go. Although aimed at fitness buffs on Indiegogo, Rufus Labs' device for iPhones and Android has WiFi and Bluetooth, built-in voice and video, apps, messaging, alerts, and a full Web browser. If it included HIPAA-grade security, Rufus Cuff might be an effective communications tool for busy healthcare staff, too.
Seeking $250,000 on Indiegogo.
In what could be baby's first wearable, Monbaby is a sleep monitor in a button that transmits the infant's breathing movements to a smartphone app. The button attaches to the baby's sleepwear. Parents can check to see how their baby slept through the night, determining whether the baby tossed and turned or slept peacefully. Parents can receive activations for specific concerns such as lack of movement.
The company hopes eventually to expand to other age groups and create a wireless service. In real time, the wearable accelerometer measures movement or lack of motion, position and orientation, activity levels, and breathing. Monbaby will have to get FCC certification, the company said. The button is made of the same type of plastic used in toys such as Lego bricks, it noted.
Seeking $10,000 on Kickstarter.
The Healbe GoBe, slated for release in June, doesn't require QR codes, photos, or other manual logging of meals. Instead, this body manager automatically measures calorie intake, hydration, sleep, stress levels, and other metrics via the wearer's skin. The waterproof band, created by the designer of the Motorola V70, connects to an Apple or Android smartphone via Bluetooth or the Healbe Web portal.
Users set goals, earn badges, and receive health-improvement suggestions. Healbe previewed the device and app at CES 2014, and plans to use its crowdfunded monies for software improvement and manufacturing.
Already surpassed $100,000 goal on Indiegogo.
Monitoring a sick child's temperature throughout the night can be difficult using traditional oral or digital thermometers, according to iTherm founder Marcos Oliva. That's why he designed this armband system, which works with a smartphone app to alert caregivers only if the patient's temperature is cause for alarm.
The app registers the patient's temperature data so users can share it with the family doctor. The device, which is designed for children ages one to eight, uses Bluetooth to communicate with phones and tablets. It's slated to ship this fall.
Seeking $29,000 on Indiegogo.
For many surgeries to succeed, patients must regularly exercise according to physical therapy regimens. Although insurance might pay for several weeks or months of instruction, people should do these exercises at home for much longer periods. To help patients keep these commitments, VideoHab developed an online video and analytics system that instructs, tracks, and measures patients' home exercising. Therapists record patients doing the exercises at the facility. When at home, users log on and review their own videos, then copy the exercises. Patients record their pain levels and any difficulties, and the system graphs their progress. Developed by professional physical therapists, VideoHab plans to use funding to develop the second version of its software.
Seeking $10,000 on Medstartr.
TrueNorth Healthcare melds social media into its end-of-life planning software. Designed by healthcare and hospice professionals, TrueNorth allows users to integrate their social media contacts when designating healthcare advocates. Then it uses these networks to schedule and share plans in the cloud. Families can also create and share a TrueNorth network to participate in the care of a loved one who's separated by distance, the company said.
Up to 76% of physicians whose patients had advance directives were unaware of these documents, according to TrueNorth. By making these directives electronically available to more loved ones, healthcare providers will have easier access to patients' wishes, the company said. This will improve care and reduce costs, it said.
Seeking $15,000 on MedStartr.
As organizations focus on population health, helping consumers dine only at restaurants that meet the health department's cleanliness standards seems a natural complement. Created by CEO Matthew Eierman, HDScores' app wants to "create the largest health inspection report database," and make an easily searchable version available for iPhones, Androids, and Windows devices.
The iOS version, slated for release in June 2014, encompasses 43% of the US population and 43% of the 1.5 million establishments it plans to include if fully funded. Although all restaurants must have health inspections, each jurisdiction presents data differently, making it difficult to quantify or search, according to HDScores. The app standardizes these varying systems, giving users one streamlined approach to this publicly available -- but confusingly stored -- information across city, county, and state lines.
Seeking $5,000 on Indiegogo.
The scientists and engineers behind Cre8MDI believe they've come up with a simple, inexpensive test for aortic stiffness, believed to be a strong predictor of future cardiovascular problems. The firm's product uses two wireless sensors attached to the patient via disposable electrodes to measure pulse wave velocity and analyze the aorta.
Cre8MDI has filed four utility patents and has several provisional patents in process, the company said. It will use funds raised for constructing its next-stage prototype.
Seeking $7,000 on Medstartr.
The scientists and engineers behind Cre8MDI believe they've come up with a simple, inexpensive test for aortic stiffness, believed to be a strong predictor of future cardiovascular problems. The firm's product uses two wireless sensors attached to the patient via disposable electrodes to measure pulse wave velocity and analyze the aorta.
Cre8MDI has filed four utility patents and has several provisional patents in process, the company said. It will use funds raised for constructing its next-stage prototype.
Seeking $7,000 on Medstartr.
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