Global investments in healthcare start-up is at its peak due to the major impact made by COVID-19, which is indeed helping the start-ups to grow. We at Medicircle present to you the Healthcare start-up Series wherein we are featuring a lot of start-ups, especially in the healthcare section which has shined through in this pandemic.

Rajat Jain is the Founder and Managing Director of Sunfox Technologies. It's a Medtech R&D lab focused to develop portable, affordable, minimalistic, and frugal medical devices for cardiac health. ECG is the most important thing for any cardiac health check-ups and diagnosis. He has developed Spandan, a flagship project that is the smallest, lightest, and most economical ECG. Rajat is an Incubation Manager turned Technopreneur and has expertise in Technology Development, Medical Technology, and Engineering Management. He is Post Graduate in Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing. He has represented India in the World Economic Forum among the top 100 global startups and various other international platforms. His efforts for global healthcare solutions have been appreciated by Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi himself multiple times on National TV.

Spandan can help in keeping eye on the heart condition

Rajat says, “We are trying to reach out to cardiac patients specifically when they need cardiac monitoring facilities and patients who are with the comorbid situations. We are providing this very minimalistic equipment to them so that they can keep an eye on their heart conditions and be in touch through teleconsultation with the doctors. Cardiac monitoring is the preliminary equipment that is required for any cardiac patient to get any kind of medication. So, for non-COVID patients who want to see the doctors but cannot go to the hospitals because of the pandemic, we are reaching out to them and helping them.” 

Spandan is multitasking

Rajat expresses, “Spandan is just 12 gram device. It is so small that you can actually fit it inside a matchbox and is specifically developed for frontline health applications and also for self-monitoring purposes. So, cardiac patient can monitor their arrhythmias and other physiological tests. They can get a commercial grade multiaccess ECG, the patient can also convert his phone into a bedside monitor. Thus, everything can be done in the Spandan application. Any clinic doctor can provide electrocardiography facilities to all his/her patients using Spandan whenever they need it. Secondly, a patient can monitor or diagnose themselves being at home and results can be shared with the doctor immediately through any platform. So, it's as simple as you're chatting with your doctor through WhatsApp,” talks Rajat.

People have started looking after homegrown solutions

Rajat emphasizes, “Indian startups have started capturing big segments of sectors like telemedicine, online pharmacy, home healthcare, medical devices. If you look at the current market, more than 90% of the medical devices, starting from a thermometer, thermal scanners, pulse oximeters to MRI machines, most of them are of foreign technologies. And we are importing all of them. Post-COVID, a lot of Indian start-ups are actually coming up with homegrown solutions and people have also started looking at them. So, this way, I see a big disruption coming in the healthcare and the medical device industry with the whole of homegrown start-ups.”

People are comfortable in adopting new technologies post-COVID

Rajat speaks, “COVID has created an immense impact on the adoptions. Users are actually more comfortable adopting new technologies. People refrain from going to hospitals because of infection and are inclining towards self-monitoring, self-diagnosing, and home health care. So, yes, it has been a great experience in terms of adoption and there is very little resistance coming from the patient side as well. Earlier you have to educate them about what exactly you're offering and how it can help but now it has improved a lot. It will also help in reducing unnecessary visits of patients to doctors and hospitals and they can utilize best of their productivity.”

Spandan is a pocket-friendly solution

Rajat adds, “It's been over four years, we are doing a lot of R & D on the product. We are the most noiseless, stable solution in the segment with the highest rated pocket ECG among all platforms which are selling the product. So, 80% of the users are Clinic Doctors, General Physicians who want this product to help their patients in the need of hour. Review is very good, and adaptability is amazing from these people.”

Spandan is meeting all the challenges of the healthcare sector

Rajat mentions, “The solution is capable of meeting all the challenges of the healthcare sector i.e. Accessibility, Availability, and Affordability. We have brought the solution in very close proximity to the end-user. A patient has to go to the hospital or diagnostic center to get their cardiac screening, which is now easily accessible at home through Spandan. It is as simple as using a thermometer at home. A patient is bought to the hospital only after the condition deteriorates. Delay in reaching the hospital, makes the job tougher. Availability of this solution at home will help in the early diagnosis of the cardiac condition, thereby avoiding the consequences of landing up into severe cardiac problems. We have cut down the cost and time by 20 times, which a patient usually spends with the traditional solution. A patient can get their report on the smartphone within a minute. Talking about the cost, we are offering the most economical solution in the segment. Access at the time of emergency is the biggest advantage of our solution,” shares Rajat.

Spandan has been meeting all the challenges of the healthcare sector says Rajat Jain, Founder and Managing Director of Sunfox Technologies

(Edited by Renu Gupta)