RIT spinout HHI is looking for grant funding to commercialise a cardiovascular monitoring toilet seat intended for patients recovering from heart failure.
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) has spun out a US-based business, Heart Health Intelligence (HHI), to develop cardiovascular monitoring technology that would be embedded into the toilet seats of patients.
HHI’s toilet seats contain three cardiological measurement devices: an electrocardiogram, photoplethysmogram and ballistocardiogram. They would be installed in the homes of recovering heart failure patients to monitor body mass, heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygenation.
By applying algorithms to the data, HHI’s technology would be able to flag up any signs of the patient’s condition deteriorating to their healthcare provider. The startup has projected the technology will cost $200,000 to install for 150 patients, against an estimated $500,000 in healthcare expenditures on heart failure remissions.
HHI was founded by Nicholas Conn, a postdoctoral fellow at RIT and a member of the university team responsible for inventing the toilet seats.
The company hopes to win approval for its product from the US Food and Drug Administration and is looking to secure additional grant funding to support development.
HHI’s product is currently undergoing preclinical studies and has already been validated on more than 300 human subjects, including patients recuperating from cardiovascular disease and heart failure.
The spinout joined RIT’s Venture Creations incubator earlier this year. It received first prize in the institute’s Tiger Tank entrepreneurship competition in November 2018.
