Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on innovative solutions for the healthcare sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we want to share our insights with you. This time, you will discover 5 promising disposable medical solutions.
Heat Map: 5 Top Disposable Medical Solutions
Using our StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 1.379.000+ startups & scaleups globally, we looked at innovation in the field of healthcare. For this research, we identified 146 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & scaleups developing disposable medical solutions. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 146 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
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Amoedos Healthcare – Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Protective equipment comprises the most commonly used medical disposables in the healthcare sector. The coronavirus pandemic has brought the importance of personal protective equipment to the fore, with masks being a widely accepted method to slow the spread of the virus. Masks, gloves, and other PPE minimize the risk of infection for patients by keeping the surroundings as hygienic as possible. This further reduces the incidences of hospital-acquired infections (HAI), saving countless lives.
Amoedos Healthcare is a Spanish startup that offers disposable protective equipment for healthcare workers. The startup offers surgical and hygienic, and masks with non-woven polypropylene exteriors and interiors and a melt-blown fabric. The N95 masks provide five layers of security against bacteria and viruses. The startup also provides disposable gloves, overalls, gowns, and hair covers that are approved by the FDA and is also CE-certified.
Unisoft Medical – Single Patient Use Mattress
In clinics and hospitals, hundreds of patients share the same mattresses over the years. Inadequate cleaning and sterilization procedures contribute to a large number of hospital-acquired infections. Moreover, these mattresses are often uncomfortable, leading to issues such as pressure ulcers. Healthcare startups are working on new mattress designs that combine comfort and easily-disposable solutions to provide a safer experience for the patients.
The US-based startup Unisoft Medical develops solutions to prevent HAIs. The Unisoft One is a single patient use mattress that features connected air chambers powered by a patented low-pressure pump. The startup uses thin-film polyethylene to make a mattress that is more stable, responsive, and comfortable than regular hospital mattresses. The mattress’s design reduces the moisture to keep the patients’ skin dry at all times.
Vortex Surgical – Disposable Forceps
Reusable surgical instruments require complete sterilization after every use. While this is certainly practiced in most hospitals, reusable instruments present high logistical and sterilization costs, reduced efficacy with use, and the risk of infections due to inefficient sterilization. With advances in medical device manufacturing bringing their costs down, healthcare institutions are now considering disposable forceps, blades, and other instruments. Disposable instruments are also safe, pre-sterilized, and save costs for hospitals and patients.
Vortex Surgical is a US-based startup that provides innovative surgical products for ophthalmologic surgery. ACTU8 is a pair of disposable forceps with a responsive, low profile handle for precision control. The forceps feature a textured platform for easy handling, high-visibility design, and a glare-free finish. The startup’s forceps especially help eye surgeons effectively manipulate the internal limiting membrane (ILM) and the epiretinal membrane (ERM).
Neurent Medical – Disposable Medical Device
Medical devices, particularly those that enter the patient’s body, pose a serious risk of cross-contamination HAIs. Minimally-invasive surgery reduces some of the risks involved. It also reduces the costs and time involved, by minimizing the preparation steps. Medtech startups are developing disposable medical devices that allow doctors to perform minimally-invasive surgeries faster.
Irish startup Neurent Medical develops a minimally-invasive surgical device for the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the nose. The single-use handheld device uses radio frequencies, enabling ENT surgeons to treat patients in a clinic setting. For example, the microelectrode array on the device delivers targeted energy to reverse inflammation, achieved by insertion through the nostrils.
Consis Medical – Single-Use Endoscopes
Inadequate reprocessing of reusable endoscopes poses a persistent risk of infection outbreaks. There is an increasing awareness of endoscopy-associated infections, both among healthcare professions and patients. MedTech startups are developing single-use solutions that make part or whole endoscopes disposable. While they are more expensive to purchase, the costs are largely offset by the ease of use, pre-sterilized packaging, and savings in labor and time.
Consis Medical is an Israeli startup that offers self-propelled, single-use endoscopes. The startup’s endoscope features a semi-disposable design, with the device head sterilized after every use. The device propels the inflated sleeve along the intestine. The sleeve cartridge is then disposable and is ready for out-of-the-box endoscopy procedures.
What About The Other 141 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence and enable you to achieve your goals faster. The 5 disposable medical solutions showcased above are promising examples out of the 146 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
