Emedpatch – Great Potential of a Smart Patch
Kirjoittanut Jussi Meriläinen
Emedpatch, a startup heading for United States’ healthcare market, was formed after thorough groundwork. CEO Miika Miinala goes through how the company came to be, what kind of experience they got from R2B project, and how the corona pandemic affected company’s direction.
Emedpatch’s journey begun on the brink of global pandemic, when Business Finland funded Research to Business (R2B) project was kicked in the action. “Corona messed our plans pretty hard”, CEO Miika Miinala states on several times while recollecting the project.
The formation of the team started earlier than pandemic. Miinala read an interview in Tekniikka&Talous magazine, where a University of Oulu researcher Jaakko Palosaari talked about energy harvesting, and called him about commercializing this tech. The discussion didn’t result in collaboration, but about a year later Palosaari raised the matter again.
Palosaari asked Miinala to join their R2B project, because he has a background in sales, marketing, and financing. “Researchers wanted to apply for funding and asked for my comments. They had reserved one day for it”, Miinala chuckles. “There was nothing I could do in that time frame, but on the second try we made the application together and got the funding!”
New plans forced by pandemic
Target for the commercialization project was a new material, developed by Assistant Professor Yang Bai, that harvests energy and could be used in sensors. The material can gather kinetic, thermal, and solar energy from its surroundings. “The intention of the project was to find best use for this material”, Miinala wraps up.
Demonstrations are crucial for instruments and new technologies. In the year 2020 they became almost impossible to arrange, when lockdowns started around the globe. “I sent over hundred e-mails to sensor manufacturers, and there was strong interest from Japan. But in the end, we should have been able to demonstrate it.”
When sensor manufacturers didn’t get excited, they needed to think of something else. The first year of the project went in finding a new direction. “Fortunately, we could use the funding for business incubation and Business Finland hinted us two contacts from USA.”
This way the team met advisors and got valuable information on health technology market of United States. Miinala states” it is an unbelievable asset, if you get someone with decades of experience to tell you, what works and what doesn’t.”
Versatile measurement device
With the provided feedback they also found a fitting application. “We noticed a need for simultaneous measurement of cough and fever in different respiratory illnesses.”, Miinala explains. Emedpatch, the product, is a smart patch designed for this kind of measurement. The company shares the name with this product.
In their own tests the product has performed well, but for wider adoption they still need a learning algorithm and calibration. In the future, the device could be used in measuring other things besides cough and fever.
Now, the company aims for the health market of United States, where it would be used by insurance companies. Miinala remarks, that because of the wide regulation it’s not an easy market to get into, “but if you get through, the success is certain!”
Before possible break in the USA market, Emedpatch’s product could be used for example in clinical medical testing where, instead of going hospital, you could make measurements from home. This could diminish the interruptions of test periods, which is a problem in this kind of testing.
Future Full of Promise
In retrospective, the R2B process was clearly beneficial. Miinala thanks especially the constant challenging of the team and their ideas, and the new contacts. For those going for a R2B project he reminds, that team members outside the field of research should be properly and intelligibly familiarized with the subject matter.
“It is important to communicate, what the solution can actually do, so resources can be aimed in the right direction from the beginning.”
About long-term goals of the company Miinala hints applying the smart patch into diagnosing infections because fever and cough are the first symptoms in most of the respiratory infections. Users would be all the critical infrastructure workers of societies, and the solution could be sold anywhere in the world. For example, US federal government is looking for these kinds of innovations.
But the long-term plans are constantly evolving. “At this point, in a new thing, there’s always new ideas and influences coming. Later we see, how far our resources can take us!”
Jussi Meriläinen
Innovaatioviestinnän Yliopistoharjoittelija // Innovation communications Intern
+358 50 305 5741
jussi.merilainen@oulu.fi
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