Covid-19 Innovation Report: Breakthroughs Across Healthcare

Innovation When We Need it More Than Ever By Neil Greenberg

As hard as you may have been working, as smart as your colleagues are, as dedicated as your company is – get ready for more pressure. Your work and wisdom is more in demand than it ever has been. And that’s a good thing. Top athletes often tell us that they prefer playing against someone as good or better, because that competition ups their game out of necessity. We see this happening all over the industry today.

TREATING THE SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19

Cathy Cather, Parallel Profile

At Parallel Profile, Cathy is working with Cloud Pharmaceuticals, Mercury Data Science, Vanderbilt, Nashville BioSciences and others to mine literature, databases and EMRs in order to identify drugs that can be immediately repurposed to make patients stronger and more able to fight off a potential COVID-19 infection. Their curated research aims to uncover drugs that will help boost the immune system, increase ATP in the mitochondria, reduce inflammation in the lower lungs, slow the viral replication pathway, and increase gas exchange in the lungs. With the use of AI, Cather says “answers could come within a month” and be continually updated against infected patient EMR and genomics data. “Parallel Profile can provide expedited pharmacogenomic analysis to assure each patient will respond to the optimal drug combination for them.”

MEASURING SYMPTOMS EARLIER

Sathya Elumalai, Aidar Health

At Aidar Health, Elumalai has developed a rapid health assessment device, MouthLab, that can measure COVID-19 symptoms early and monitor patients at home or in the hospital. It works like a breathalyzer, but acts like a Star Trek tricorder. When a patient breathes into the device’s mouthpiece for 30 seconds it captures more than 10 vital medical parameters. With MouthLab, early COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath can be measured in real-time using their thermometer, and breath sensors that measure breathing rate, coughing patterns and respiratory flow cycle morphology to assess shortness of breath. Progressive disease symptoms include lung congestion (measured using MouthLab’s spirometer/lung function test) — reduction in SpO2 due to lung infection (measured using MouthLab’s pulse Ox) —impaired gas diffusion between the lungs and blood, and irregular heart rhythms (measured using MouthLab’s ECG electrodes).

JUST-IN-TIME ARRIVAL AT DOCTOR’S OFFICE

Jennifer Meller, Navimize

Navimize’s technology predicts delays in the doctor’s schedule and then texts messages patients to let them know when their appointment will actually begin, before they head to the doctor’s office. This allows patients to arrive at the doctor’s office, be seen by the doctor, and leave, avoiding unnecessary time in a crowded waiting room with sick and potentially infectious patients.

GETTING WOMEN THROUGH PREGNANCY WITH MINIMUM ANXIETY

Judith Nowlin, Babyscripts

Fears surrounding the spread of COVID-19 have sparked increased engagement with digital health in pregnant women looking for the latest updates on the virus. Babyscripts, the leading virtual care company for managing obstetrics, teamed up with clinical partner George Washington Medical Faculty Associates (GW-MFA) to disseminate relevant information about COVID-19 to new and expecting mothers. “There’s a lot of conflicting information floating around on the internet,” says Judith, “and pregnant women are especially vulnerable because they’re in a unique situation that complicates their normal responses to things like virus-protection. Mobile health gives us the critical ability to communicate to these patients in real-time and answer their questions.”

HELP FOR PATIENTS WITH PULMONARY FIBROSIS

Andrew Rosenberg & Yury Salazar, Responsum Health

Rosenberg, Salazar and their team at Responsum Health work with patients with pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic condition that puts them at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. They have partnered with the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) to deliver updates and guidelines via their mobile app on how this at-risk patient population can stay safe, promote healthy habits and spread disease awareness.

REAL-TIME TRACKING OF SUSPECTED PATIENTS

Jonathon Feit, Beyond Lucid Technologies, Inc.

Based on EMS, fire, public health and hospital partner-client requests for immediate action, Beyond Lucid Technologies, Inc. is preparing a suite of powerful data analytics tools related to real-time tracking of suspected COVID-19 cases — including pneumonia, COPD, bronchial infections and lookalikes. “Details are coming very soon,” says Jonathan. “We believe it is insufficient to just capture a few data points, even those accessed by NEMSIS (National EMS Information System) and states EMS offices are looking at. Just collecting data is not enough. You have to go further: you have to share with others who have a stake in both patient and community outcomes — in matters that they can consume, in real-time. That’s where we specialize, so that’s what we’re going to do.”

EFFECTIVE DISINFECTION OF TREATMENT ROOMS

Luca Emili, InSilicoTrials

Emili and his team at InSilicoTrials have developed a technology that promotes effective disinfection planning of a room or building by running simulations that predict where the disinfectant should go. This provides insight on the right positioning of disinfectant devices, along with medical devices. Current disinfection is typically executed in two ways: 1) a manual swipe of surfaces (which is highly inefficient and hard to execute in a big area every day for a long period); or 2) spraying a disinfectant into the air. The latter option is more efficient. With InSilicoTrials’ tech, it’s possible to simulate a diffusion of a spray in the air using software for fluid-dynamics like the ones used for airplanes or a blood flow simulation. View this video for an example. “Disinfection is extremely important as COVID-19 remains alive up to nine days on surfaces generating a significant issue of extending the contagion,” Emili says.

BETTER SURGICAL CARE, SHORTER HOSPITAL STAYS

Brand Newland, Goldfinch

At Goldfinch, Brand Newland and COO John Greenwood are working on better surgical care pathways. This means shorter hospital stays and reduced infection rates. With the company’s nurse concierge, Goldfinch’s platform facilitates better postsurgery care and better triaged questions, thereby limiting a patient’s need to show up in the emergency room or at urgent care center. “During an outbreak, the less time you need to spend in a formal health care setting — be that a hospital, clinic, ER, etc. — the better,” says Brand.

ADVICE FOR CANCER PATIENTS

Susan Bratton, Savor Health

Savor Health has experienced a dramatic increase in questions regarding COVID-19, with many of the company’s cancer patients noting that they are staying home to avoid contact with the virus. In response to these concerns, Bratton is offering free unlimited access to Ina®, Savor Health’s “Intelligent Nutrition Assistant,” throughout the entire COVID-19 crisis so that homebound cancer patients and caregivers have access to personalized evidence-based nutrition and symptom management support 24/7 “on demand” via text on their smartphone. “With the rapid increase in U.S. citizens infected with COVID-19, and the resulting increase in home bound or otherwise quarantined Americans, Savor Health continues to pursue our original mission of supporting cancer patients and their families with safe, personalized, evidencebased nutrition support,” says Susan.

VISUALIZING DISINFECTANT COVERAGE

Kinnos Inc.

Kinnos Inc. has developed a patented powder additive called Highlight which is combined with existing bleach disinfectants. Highlight-enhanced bleach is colorized to easily visualize coverage so you never miss a spot and then fades from colored to colorless after a few minutes to approximate when decontamination is done. It’s as easy as telling someone to make sure everything is covered in color and when the color is gone, the surface is safe to touch. Especially in a high-stress and high-risk environment, providing personnel with disinfection you can see empowers them to be confident in their safety and provides peace of mind to everyone who sees the color.