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Arik Ben Ishay, CEO of Biobeat – Interview Series

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Arik Ben Ishay is the CEO of Biobeat, an AI powered remote patient monitoring platform, measuring 15 vital signs and triggering early clinical intervention

What is Biobeat Medical Monitoring?

Biobeat provides an advanced AI-powered wearable remote patient monitoring solution for hospitals, long-term care environments and pharma/CRO drug development. Used by healthcare facilities across the US and the world, Biobeat’s patient monitors (wearable wrist and chest monitors) continuously and accurately 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 utilizes Big Data patient analysis and proprietary AI features to support health teams in providing optimal care to patients, while minimizing the risk of infectious viral exposure from in-person spot-checks.

Could you share the genesis story behind Biobeat?

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 Organization, 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 startup into a leading provider of hospital grade remote patient monitoring solutions. The company now has nearly 30 employees and is servicing patients across the globe.

Could you discuss the different types of monitoring that Biobeat is capable of?

Biobeat’s wearable, wireless, non-invasive wrist and chest-monitors are used to provide health staff with actionable patient insights from a distance. Biobeat’s sensors collectively track patient 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 prioritize patient care. Biobeat sensors collect millions of data-points per patient per day, which is then analyzed by Biobeat’s proprietary health-AI and Machine Learning algorithms to provide actionable insights on patient care.

What type of sensors are being used?

Biobeat’s wearable patient monitoring devices utilize proprietary non-invasive reflective photoplethysmography (PPG) monitoring technology to automatically and continuously track multiple vital signs and health parameters.

Biobeat’s proprietary patient management solution then uses health-AI and Machine Learning technologies to provide actionable insights on patient care.

How important is remote patient monitoring?

The use of remote patient monitoring solutions has seen exponential growth over the past few years, especially in light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. With more patients needing to stay home or be confined to isolation units, remotely managing patient care and communication with healthcare providers and staff has become more crucial than ever. As patient monitoring technologies continue to improve with the incorporation of added AI and machine learning capabilities, we can expect to see remote patient monitoring solutions become the new standard of patient care across the entire healthcare continuum.

What type of patients will most benefit from the Biobeat?

Biobeat is a medical-grade monitoring device that is primarily used within hospital and long-term care environments, as well for clinical/pharma research and trials. The device can be used across multiple healthcare disciplines, including post-surgery and rehabilitation, and is also effective for home care settings, especially for patients suffering from comorbidities and chronic diseases. As an easy-to-use wearable wrist or chest monitor, the device is highly applicable for the elderly population.

The Israeli Ministry of Health has recently declared that the Biobeat platform should be part of the COVID-19 preparedness effort, could you share some details regarding this?

Upon witnessing an overall lack of equipment and staff to care for COVID-19 patients at the start of the pandemic, the Israeli Health Authorities decided to issue an internal communication recommending the use of the Biobeat solution by all hospital isolation units, and even provided financial assistance to support its implementation.

The Israeli Health Authorities understood the inherent value provided by Biobeat’s devices in that they could help physicians identify patient status abnormalities before they become critical, empowering health teams to take preventative action to avoid ventilation to improve patient outcomes and reserve the scarce ventilators for seriously ill patients. Beyond improving patient outcomes, Biobeat’s solution helped health teams streamline workflows and better allocate hospital resources.

Regarding the implementation, Dr. Ramzi Kurd, Head of the COVID-19 Ward in the Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem said “all patients admitted to my department received the Biobeat patch monitor, helping me to assess their medical condition without direct contact. I find the technology also important for the days after the SARS-CoV-2 ends.”

The FDA has recently cleared Biobeat for approval, what are some of the current plans to penetrate the USA market?

On the heels of our recent FDA approvals, we are currently in the process of implementing our solution throughout multiple major healthcare provider systems across the U.S. Additionally, we are constantly developing our PPG-based sensor technology and our machine learning and AI-powered patient management features to improve the capabilities of our solution.

Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visit Biobeat.

A founding partner of unite.AI & a member of the Forbes Technology Council, Antoine is a futurist who is passionate about the future of AI & robotics.

He is also the Founder of Securities.io, a website that focuses on investing in disruptive technology.