HEALTH TECH
SHIV GAGLANI
Beating the Clock with iBeat
New Wearable Device Inspired by a Personal Loss for Its Creator
R
yan Howard is a serial entrepreneur who
is most well-known for founding Practice
Fusion (previously covered in the January
2015 issue of CSWN), a free web-based electronic
health record that has reached more than 100,000
physicians. After vacating the CEO position at
Practice Fusion, he and a few former colleagues
have been busy creating a new wearable device
called iBeat.
How did you come up with the idea for iBeat?
In late 2015, a very close childhood friend of mine,
Marc Duntley, unexpectedly passed away in his sleep.
He was only 40 years old. After Marc passed, I kept
thinking, this could’ve been prevented. He could’ve
been saved, and that’s what ultimately inspired me
to create iBeat. It’s a device that perpetually monitors
your heart activity and can get you immediate care in
the event of a life-threatening emergency.
How does iBeat work?
iBeat is a life-saving smart watch. We’re coining it
a Wearable-as-a-Service™ and targeting an older
demographic (50+), as well as people who have heart
conditions, for the device.
The device has micro sensors on the underside
of the watch face that measure one’s heart rate for
irregularities. There is also a built in 3G cellular radio,
microphone, and GPS. When/if a cardiac incident is
detected, such as the heart slowing or stopping, the
user is instantly prompted by watch vibration and a
sound alert. If the user is not okay, or if there is no
response, the iBeat dispatch team is alerted, and emergency responders are notified with the user’s location
and type of emergency.
In tandem, the watch can also notify people nearby and tell them to start giving this person CPR (if
they are incapacitated). Emergency contacts and loved
ones can also receive a text with a link showing a realtime view of dispatch entries about the user’s status as
well as a real-time view of the user’s location.
What stage of development is the product in?
We are currently finalizing our industrial design, and
working to bring our prototype into the testing phase for
September. We’ve partnered with Ammunition Group,
led by Apple’s ex-Head of Industrial Design, Robert
Bruner (Jonathan Ive’s predecessor), who built the iBeats
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CardioSource WorldNews
headphones and the new Polaroid Instacam. The go-tomarket version will include refinement and incorporation of the iBeat brand, as well as color choices for the
band, and additional novel tech built into it.
What should cardiologists and other clinicians
know about iBeat?
Cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing nearly 326,000 people a year. Nine
out of ten people who have a cardiac arrest incident
without intervention die. In fact, the number of people
who die each year from cardiac arrest is roughly
equivalent to the number who die from Alzheimer’s
disease, assault with firearms, breast cancer, cervical
cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, HIV, house fires,
motor vehicle accidents, prostate cancer, and suicides
combined. iBeat’s mission is to empower people with
the freedom to be fearless, explore, and love longer
lives, by helping them to live their lives without the
concerns that they will not be able to get help in the
case of an emergency. Additionally, by quickening care
delivery, we truly believe the iBeat smart watch can
prevent fatal heart incidents. No other smart watch or
heart-rate tracking monitor currently does this.
Can you discuss any similar products and why
this is different?
The iBeat Life Monitor is different from the latest
offerings of Fitbit, Life Alert, Apple Watch, or Philips
Lifeline. Unlike other personal emergency devices on
the market, the iBeat Life Monitor is cellular-enabled
and GPS-equipped providing full mobility and remote
monitoring. It also syndicates data to users and their
contacts, including weekly status updates of their
daily heart health, stress, and activity.
In addition to tracking one’s day-to-day activity,
iBeat’s sensors can instantly detect cardiac arrest (a sudden, sometimes temporary, cessation of heart function),
the signs of arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat), or atrial
fibrillation (an irregular, often rapid heart rate that can
cause poor blood flow and lead to stroke). The device is
also cellular-enabled allowing it to connect with iBeat’s
dispatch center in the case of a life-threatening emergency and send emergency responders, helping quicken
care delivery and potentially saving the user’s life. Also, a
user’s spouse, family or loved ones can login to a healthtracking dashboard at track their loved one’s heart health
and make sure he or she is okay.
How has your background as the founder of
Practice Fusion influenced iBeat, if at all?
I spent the past decade building the largest cloud-based
electronic health record platform helping connect doctors, patients, and data to drive better health and save
lives. I’m applying many things I’ve learned (including
incorporating the DNA that established our award-winning culture and product) as well as reconciling some
of the mistakes I made at Practice Fusion. I believe in
building technology that will be massively impactful
to the community. Like Practice Fusion, iBeat will also
have the potential to save lives, but in a more personal
manner–by speeding the delivery of care. ■
Shiv Gaglani is an MD/MBA candidate at the Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine and Harvard Business School.
He writes about trends in medicine and technology and
has had his work published in Medgadget, The Atlantic,
and Emergency Physicians Monthly.
June 2016