Rising demand in global cardiac care due to an ageing population, changing lifestyles, and increased costs, shows no signs of slowing down. With economists and health professionals predicting that the medical industry is ill equipped to meet this demand, a Perth medtech startup – Alerte Digital Health – stepped up to find a cost effective and accurate solution.
Razali Mohamad, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer for Alerte Digital Health, has been leading a team of engineers to develop a new technology for early detection of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia) including atrial fibrillation – a common early warning sign for heart disease, and blood clots leading to a stroke.
“It is estimated that over 6 million people have atrial fibrillation, and with the increased ageing world population this number is expected to continue to rise,” said Razali.
“Developed countries around the world for example spends over $273 Billion annually on cardiovascular diseases, with $200 Million of that on ECG (electrocardiogram) related procedures alone. This cost is expected to jump to $818 Billion by 2030.”
“My engineers and I thought, ‘There must be a better way to reduce these costs and make cardiac care accessible to anyone, anywhere’ – That’s when we looked at AI for a solution.”
Razali explained that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already been key in creating solutions in an array of industries, including the health and medical sector. PwC estimates that AI could add US$15.7 trillion to the global GDP by 2030.
“Alerte Digital Health is set to change the cardiology industry with the world’s first smartphone enabled real-time heart monitoring and arrhythmia-detection technology,” said Razali.
“Our framework involves three independent but linked methodologies: ECG acquisition on a small wearable device, continuous wireless digital transfer of ECG data to a mobile device, and real-time arrhythmia-detection using AI.”
“Unlike other technology in the market, Alerte uses mobile and web-based platforms so that medical professionals can access ECG information remotely and in real time; improving reliability, access, and efficiency to anyone, anywhere in the world.”
Alerte’s revolutionary AI technology has certainly been gaining industry interest, as winner of Startup Of The Year at the 28th WAITTA INCITE Awards in June, and a finalist for both the National iAwards and WA Innovator Of The Year in the Emerging Innovation category.
Alerte has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2014, operating from a small house in Perth’s suburbs, to today employing seven engineers and opening another office in Melbourne.
The team is now planning on more growth to achieve their goal of providing accessible, affordable, accurate and superior medical technology.
“In addition to cardiac care technology, we aim to become a world leader in AI with a focus on multiple healthcare applications, built with technology that will provide accuracy in medical prognosis and diagnosis,” said Razali.
“Through our technology we would like to ensure that everyone is able to access superior healthcare, regardless of where they are from or what their financial situation is like.”
Cardiac clinics across Perth will be the first market for Alerte’s Holter Cardiac Monitoring System, launching this month.
Further information on Alerte Digital Health: https://www.alertedh.com
