Dublin startups tell their stories. Meet Shorjia Sanyal, CEO of Think Biosolution.
Tell us about your product/service.
Think Biosolution It turns cameras into medical diagnostic tools that provide low-cost, non-invasive health monitoring. Our first product, PulseR™, allows doctors to measure heart rate, respiratory rate and heart rate variability from a video of the patient’s face. Our second product, QuasaR™, is a wearable device with a camera that measures various vitals and compares them to data on movement. Based on that information, the device suggests optimal exercise routines and durations, thus helping the user manage chronic obesity, stress, and heart and respiratory diseases.
What inspired you to start the company?
Co-founder Kushik and I met at an Indian university. In 2008, my grandmother was hospitalized in India. I was appalled at the terrible state of the health care system. After the experience, I suggested to Kushik to create a healthcare solution that would prevent people from needing to go to the hospital.
Which market are you targeting and how big is it?
Our target market is individuals who want to manage their chronic obesity, stress, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. According to the World Health Organization, chronic pain is expected to increase by 57% by 2020. According to PwC analysis, the global health care market is estimated at $1.47 trillion.
What is your business model?
We work directly with doctors for PulseR™. QuasaR™ is still in pre-trials and will be licensed to sports and lifestyle apparel manufacturers after a soft launch.
If you have already received funding, what was the funding process like?
At the beginning of 2016 NDRC, immediately liked our idea. Their funding helped us test the technology’s validity with standard medical devices. It was an important step in patenting.
Who are your investors, how much have you raised and why does it matter?
After the NDRC, we raised another round of investment from an angel investor to build QuasaR™. We also opened a seed round to conduct experiments with PulseR™ and QuasaR™.
Who are your competitors and potential partners, if any?
Our primary competitors are wearable fitness tracking companies such as Fitbit, Jawbone, Misfit, Garmin, Mood and Lumafit. Another set of competitors are smartphone manufacturers. What sets us apart is our unique patented image processing technology, which makes the camera as Biospectroscopic device. This eliminates a large part of the production and development costs, and also greatly increases the ease of use.
What are the biggest challenges your business faces today?
Our biggest challenge is navigating the regulatory approval landscape in terms of getting PulseR™ and QuasaR™ accepted as medical devices. It’s important that these are not just lifestyle gadgets, but that they are recognized as such, so more people can access them to manage chronic conditions.
What do you think made your investors write that check?
Our product is backed by years of research and has a great team working full time. We are always eager to learn from our users and consultants.
What achievements do you intend to achieve in the next six months?
We wanted to build the best UI and UX for PulseR™ as well as have two trials with sports and lifestyle apparel manufacturers for QuasaR™. We will also begin the process of obtaining regulatory approval to classify PulseR™ and QuasaR™ as medical devices.
What advice would you give to start-up companies in Dublin?
Now is the best time to go and talk to your customers. Before you build a great product, build a great team.
Tell us one (or more) things you love about Dublin as a startup community and city?
Dublin is a good place to start. I came to Dublin as a PhD student at UCD and received invaluable training and inspiration from the School of Physics faculty. Innovation Academy He helped turn the business idea into a real startup. The city is full of talented individuals in both technical and business knowledge. It’s amazing how easy it is to go to a meetup in Dublin and make important connections over a glass of Guinness! As international founders we are always willing to provide valuable feedback and introductions to our mentors at NDRC and Enterprise Ireland.
This article appears courtesy of the Dublin Globe. For more stories from Dublin’s startup community and tech scene, visit their website.
