Meet Japanese Startups Aiming to Disrupt Healthcare
There has never been a period in the history of such lightning-speed advances in medical technology. From remotely controlled biosensors, to data-powered wearable for disease prevention, check out Japanese startups aiming to bring a new wave of efficiency and mobility to the healthtech.
Last week, Makers Boot Camp hosted another edition of Monozukuri Hub Meetup titled ‘Healthcare x Technology’. The event focused on what it takes to build a healthcare startup and addressed challenges in improving a product development strategy. It brought together local government representatives, students and entrepreneurs for a fruitful discussion on how technology is leading the path to a more sustainable future for healthcare while remodelling our environment and society.
Kicked off back in 2016, Monozukuri Hub Meetup is a Kyoto-based event that fosters ongoing knowledge sharing and networking among the startup communities across Japan. The idea behind is to get the ecosystem players together so that it can lead to meaningful collaborations, global connects, cross learnings, and sharing insights.
The event started with a welcoming speech by Sasha Kaverina, Makers Boot Camp Marketing, who explained about the challenges that hardware startups face in bringing their solutions to scale. Makers Boot Camp provides an essential technical support and helps them progress from small lot to full production by connecting them to experienced Japanese partners and supporting with necessary funds. It is also actively involved in the ecosystem building, managing the makerspace Kyoto Makers Garage together with Kyoto city and hosting regular gatherings of entrepreneurs, students, and supporters.
GIT: Wireless Networks for Healthcare
Global Interface Technologies Inc. CEO Shogo Ida took the stage to talk about the UWB wireless technology and its medical applications. According to Shogo Ida, UWB is a communication method that uses low power consumption to achieve high bandwidth connections. Originally designed for commercial radar systems, it is suitable for the patient motion monitoring and wireless vital signs monitoring of human body.
‘The last decade has witnessed a rapid surge of interest in body sensor networks, communicating devices located around the human body. The introduction of wireless connections to exchanges sensor’s data could provide a great flexibility for both patient and medical staff, said Shogo Ida.
UWB technology could be is a good fit for medical devices since Wi-Fi cable replacement in hospitals is a no-no to avoid interference with critical Wi-Fi networks. The rapidly aging population in Japan and a shortage of nursing professionals is providing the perfect time for the introduction of remote monitoring systems like UWB.
Arblet: Life-Saving Wearable
Chronic diseases are increasingly important health concerns in many countries. To remedy this situation, Tokyo-based startup Arblet is working on the biometric cloud analytic tool and wearable device that aims to numericalize and visualize human behavior and body state.
‘In accordance with the new Japanese national standards, people are advised to be aware of serious outcome from unhealthy lifestyle and should proactively take necessary precautions by themselves. That is why we believe that self-care and self-check measures are ways to predict emergencies faster,’ said Arblet CEO Kosuke Shimizu.
The Arblet wearable device is equipped with 3 types of sensors which collect the biometric data such as blood pressure, skin temperature and heart’s rhythm. After being collected, raw data is sent to the cloud via a smartphone app and used for indicating abnormalities and changes. According to Kosuke Shimizu, this approach may prove a significant tool for biomedical researchers and physicians — and potential future patients, too.
Hardware Startup Studio
CEO of Spero and director of Hardware Startup Studio Hikari Takahashi gave a short introduction to the innovation principles, lean startup methodology and how to implement it in a startup building process. According to her presentation, it is essential to have access to network, resources and experienced mentors in order to create new impact-driven businesses from scratch. Kyoto-based Hardware Startup Studio focuses on creating startups from the ground up with teams of entrepreneurs and corporate innovators. It brings under a single umbrella everything needed to build a startup.
‘Startup studios or venture builders are organizations that produce new startups — similar to how Hollywood movie studios produce blockbuster movies.’ Attila Szigeti, author of ‘Startup Studio Playbook’.
Hardware Startup Studio’s mentorship-driven program is focused on aspiring entrepreneurs who want to create a startup yet lack the necessary resources. Within the sessions, experienced mentors-in-residence deep dive into the founders’ ideas and suggestions, helping them define their roadmap for product market fit and build a minimum viable prototype (MVP).
After the last presentation ended with a burst of applause, networking party kicked off to give attendees the chance to mix and mingle. While enjoying snacks and beverages, guests could make new connections and add more value to the existing ones.
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