Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Echophone (Launching the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Technology of the Future)

Teaser

Ultrasound is one of the safest diagnostic technologies used in medicine. But current ultrasound technology is severely limited: it is expensive, bulky and very complex to handle. Ultrasound devices started as card-based devices in the 1950 and the first hand-carried versions...

Summary

Ultrasound is one of the safest diagnostic technologies used in medicine. But current ultrasound technology is severely limited: it is expensive, bulky and very complex to handle. Ultrasound devices started as card-based devices in the 1950 and the first hand-carried versions were launched in the 2000s. Since 2015, there have been attempts to create a pocket-size point-of-care (POC) version. So far, the commercial POC versions do not measure up as they sacrifice image quality for low cost and size. But this is an important challenge to overcome as POC ultrasound can save lives.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes ultrasound as a core technology for diagnostics and remains one of the safest and least expensive, useful in practically all medical specialties. POC ultrasonography is an evolving diagnostic modality that could be used by health care professionals from nearly all specialties to make rapid and early diagnoses.
This technology has the capacity to revolutionize patient care and improve procedural efficacy, decrease complications, and limit pain and suffering. This highly valuable modality will quickly identify abnormalities that may not be revealed by traditional physical examinations. Prognosis improvement in Primary Care attention would save over €3.5 billion in the EU healthcare systems and enhance the wellbeing of 185 million people .
Somax Systems S.L. is a company born with the aim of designing and commercializing high performance hand-held ultrasound image systems, which are based on a new hardware architecture, specially designed for low cost and low power systems, and a new programming paradigm that allows using almost any mobile device as a high-performance parallel computing platform.
Somax Systems is focused in the development and commercialization of high-performance ultrasound imaging devices. We are almost ready to launch the smallest and versatile scanner in the world, which must surely be bound to become a daily essential work tool for health professionals, as today it is the stethoscope or the thermometer.
The work undertaken during the Phase 1 project allowed us to examine our technological product and our business assumptions. Our strategic vision has evolved in several ways:
1. Objectives: We have confirmed Spain as our suitable landing market and that there are important market opportunities in the EU and US assuming we can afford the certifications and validations. We have also determined to focus on nine procedures.
2. Concept and Approach: The study has confirmed that we have a large market and that we can enter it with the planned adjustments. The key is to get the regulatory approvals in the different regions, which we plan to subcontract some approved companies for as listed above. However, this involves a high financial contributions, which we will seek Phase 2 and investor funding for.
3. Impact: The introduction of Echophone can change the way of general practitioners diagnose since Somax Technology will make possible to really “see” - in real time - patient’s body, revealing the structure and function of organs at Primary Care units. Echophone enables ultrasound imaging to be executed at the bedside and thereby allowing medical specialists to make timely diagnoses and perform ultrasound-guided procedures, as well as to perform reliable diagnoses at the lower levels of the health systems that today are beyond their scope. Therefore, the probability of right prognosis in primary care practice will increase significantly in comparison with current praxis in some cases.
4. Support Needed: We will be applying for Phase 2 funding to execute the work we identified in the feasibility study in 2020. We are also really happy with the support we got from our coach and we hope we can collaborate with him in the future.

Work performed

Feasibility study including a market assessment, technological feasibility study, regulatory requirements, revenue model assessment, risk assessment and business plan.
Our initial commercialization strategy to introduce Echophone in our first target market (Primary Care) will be based on:
• Evidence-based sales material: Based on the results of the validations/certifications and maybe even clinical trials, we will provide evidence-based sales material to all stakeholders to allow them to make informed decisions.
• Customized training: to Echophone users. In a first stage, the formation activities will be performed by specialized partners in the field of ultrasounds education. This channel will be also used in the future, but our ambition is to provide personal education.
• 24/7 support: We will provide constant support, especially when we roll out to EMS and other urgent care cases.
• Local aftersales service: We will enter agreements with repair and maintenance companies in each country to cover aftersales technical service. The small size of the product enables its distribution and technical assistance services via conventional courier services avoiding the need for travel expenses of technical teams and extra cost for delivery.
Apart from all the conventional online and offline marketing activities to promote the positive impact of the EC funding and our product Echophone, we will run a strong information campaign:
• Participation in medical fairs: such as Expomed in Turkey and Medica in Germany
• Content marketing to hospitals: we will send information and infographics to hospitals and clinics that could use our technology. This way, the surrounding GPs will also learn about it.

Final results

The combination of the different innovations introduced in this product makes Echophone a unique product for the ultrasound market. Many companies are engaged in the commercialization of ultrasound imaging devices. However, after an exhaustive competition analysis, only 4 of them have comparable products.
Technological Competitive Advantages
Equipped with over 128 channels offering a higher resolution and contrast.
Higher frame rate due to the use of novel parallel programming techniques enabling a higher analysis capacity, especially in cardiology which nowadays is only available in top-class devices.
Wireless connection
Total Image Focus (dynamic receive focusing) to obtain perfectly focused images at all depths
3D imaging possibilities
Custom Advantages
Small size to facilitate its handling and displacements
Being wireless makes it easier and more comfortable for inspections and sterilization.
Great versatility thanks to its interchangeable heads to perform multiple analyses and medical evaluations.
Multiple device compatibility: screens, smartphones, tables, notebooks of all brands
Full-screen images, not angular, which provides a larger area of representation and thus delivers more information on the tissue under inspection.

Website & more info

More info: http://somaxsystems.com.