Bulgarian scaleup Checkpoint Cardio, which joined the EIT Digital Accelerator in December and is supported by the EIT Digital Access to Market teams, has secured a new joint development and implementation contract from a leading university hospital consortium.
Founded in 2014, Checkpoint Cardio has developed patented wearables that allow constant streaming of cardiac and other significant biometric data, providing a whole system for online diagnostics, prevention and emergency reaction for cardiovascular diseases. It is one of the most avant-garde telemedicine systems for the transmission and monitoring of reliable medical data in real time.
More than 50 percent of sudden deaths in the world are caused by heart-related conditions. Checkpoint Cardio has developed a comprehensive solution that consists of a medical device measuring electrocardiogram (ECG), pulse, respiration, body position and temperature, combined with a communication device transfering this data, as well as emergency calls and location, to an experienced medical team in a telemedical centre. The team constantly observes the patient's vital signals, makes diagnoses and recommends treatment.
Checkpoint Cardio was awarded a national prize for the most innovative company in Bulgaria in 2017 and its health monitoring system was ranked among the seven most promising business ventures at the Amsterdam Exhibition "The Next Web", involving more than 12,000 companies.
Consortium contract
Checkpoint Cardio, which was introduced to the <link accelerator>EIT Digital Accelerator by EIT Digital ARISE Europe, is now benefiting from support to achieve its fundraising objectives from EIT Digital's <link accelerator access-to-finance>Access to Finance team and help in its approach to <link accelerator access-to-market>key European markets from the Access to Market team. Thanks to this assistance, Checkpoint Cardio has already signed a new three-stage development contract with an international university hospital consortium. This includes €25,000 kick-off stage funding and further access to a €450,000 development and implementation budget to enhance its key system through the measurement of additional health parameters.
Boris Dimitrov, CEO and founder of CheckPoint Cardio explains: "We aim to benefit from the expertise of EIT Digital to help us to expand our development in Europe. Building on a successful base of over 20 customers in Bulgaria, with partnerships and pilots in Europe, we are looking to propose our innovative solution to medical centres and hospitals, health care professionals, private clients and professional sport structures in further European markets. Therefore we are very happy to start our collaboration with the EIT Digital Accelerator team to help us achieve our goals."
Dr. Wolfgang Kniejski, EIT Digital's Access to Market lead, adds: "Checkpoint Cardio offers outstanding software and service solutions. On that basis we see significant potential to locate it in several European countires and to deploy reference telemedical centres in most of them. We believe that we will be able to help establish a strong telemedical network, which will become an integral part of the healthcare systems in Europe."
About CheckPoint Cardio
Checkpoint Cardio combines advanced medical devices with software in order to follow a patient's vital parameters in real time. This reduces visits to the doctor and can prevent sudden cardiac death. CheckPoint Cardio's vision is to offer - through the creation of wearable medical devices - an affordable medical service for all, anywhere at any time. This includes better diagnostic precision than non-connected devices currently used in doctors' offices, connecting patients from anywhere with dedicated medical teams 24/7.
Key customers:
- St. Ekaterina State Cardiology Hospital,
- Acibadem City Clinic,
- Most prominent cardiology hospitals in Bulgaria,
- Bulgarian Red Cross,
- Kepler University Hospital, Linz
Key business targets include:
- Personal data monitoring in health / big data integration
- Secured IOT connectivity
- Proximity, patient diagnostic
- Decision support system
Contact: Boris Dimitrov, CEO, email: b.dimitrov@checkpointcardio.com
