Weill Cornell Medical College was awarded $100,000 from PILOT Health Tech NYC www.pilothealthtechnyc.com, a New York City (NYC) Economic Development Corporation initiative. The initiative works in collaboration with Health 2.0 Blueprint Health, and StartUp Health and plans to provide up to $100,000 each to ten innovative pilot project annually in NYC.
The goal for PILOT Health Tech NYC is to have early-stage companies in health technology partner with key NYC healthcare services organizations that will include hospitals, physician clinics, pharmaceutical companies, and nursing associations to develop pilots and advance new technologies.
The funding going to Weill Cornell will be used to further test the wireless Smart Pill Bottle patented at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). The smart bottle notifies individuals to take their medications and reminds them if a dose is missed.
The wireless Smart Pill Bottle is made by Adhere Tech, a startup firm that licensed the technology from UAH which holds an equity position in the company. The technology was invented by Dr. Emil Jovanov, Associate Professor in UAH’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.
The funding will enable the Weill Cornell medical college to do a clinical study to test the effectiveness of the Smart Pill Bottle on drug adherence in HIV-positive patients. For 12 weeks the New York clinical trial is scheduled to follow 70 HIV patients with medication compliance difficulties who are being treated at Weill Cornell. Each patient will receive adherence counseling, but only half will also use the smart pill bottle.
The patented technology uses a sensor in the bottle to detect when the bottle has been opened and calculates the number of pills or the amount of liquid remaining. The information is wirelessly transmitted to the cloud enabling patients to be notified by phone, text, or email.
Adhere Tech is going to have 1,000 test bottles ready this fall for the Cornell tests and also for trials for a population of type 2 diabetes patients to take place at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The company is actively seeking investors and partners at www.adheretech.com.
Another startup company Vital Care Services at www.aging2.com in conjunction with Pace University is conducting a pilot to test the effectiveness of telehealth solutions to meet the needs of diverse socio-economic communities in NYC. Pace student technicians are assisting patients taking their vital signs which are monitored remotely by a Pace RN.
The company eCaring at http://ecaring.com, along with Pace university are going to use funds to develop a comprehensive in-home care management system. eCaring will work on the joint pilot project with the university to provide a web-based care management and monitoring system to help chronically ill and multicultural older adults. Graduate nursing students at Pace University will track data to assess the effect of eCaring on the use of healthcare resources, disease management, preventable events, and healthcare costs.
The funding for Adhere Tech, Vital Care Services, and eCaring were just three of ten projects that were funded. The other seven awards went to:
- BioDigital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center—to develop an interactive 3D virtual body to more effectively communicate complex health topics
- Bio-Signal Group and NY Methodist Hospital—to develop a micro EEG to make it easier to use in an emergency department setting
- eCaring and Pace University—Flatiron Health and Continuum Health Partners—to perform big data analytics for clinical oncology data
- Opticology and NY Eye & Ear Infirmary—to develop an ocular tear pen to measure glucose levels from diabetics shedding tears above the lower eyelid.
- Rip Road and VNSNY Choice SelectHealth—to produce text messaging and a new engagement platform for Medicaid members
- Sense Health and University Behavioral Associates—to use mobile patient support technology to help case managers and patients in substance abuse programs
- StarlingHealth and Village Care—to develop a nurse call and bedside communication system to improve patient care and reduce costs