The following report is from Fierce Biotech:
In one of the more apt examples of bringing medtech into the home and meeting patients on their terms, the developer of a smart toilet seat has raised $30 million to pursue an FDA clearance.
Casana aims to provide people with a regular heart health scan without intruding on their daily routine, with electronic sensors for logging heart rate and blood pressure built directly into the cushion.
The Heart Seat is different from virtually every other vitals monitoring product, in that it takes no time out of your day and works best when you forget it’s even there.
Casana CEO Austin McChord said in a statement.
The startup’s series B round brings its lifetime fundraising total up to $46 million. It was founded in 2018 by a postdoc at the Rochester Institute of Technology, initially under the name Heart Health Intelligence. The financing was led by Morningside, with additional backing from Matrix Partners and the company’s series A investors General Catalyst and Outsiders Fund.
Last year, Casana launched the first study of the Heart Seat through its Smart Integrated Technologies Lab—or the SIT Lab, for short—to test out the hardware in a controlled environment.
Now, the company plans to complete clinical testing, obtain an FDA green light and begin its commercial launch before the end of this year.
Casana is also exploring studies to examine how the routine collection of heart data can help health systems and insurers catch early changes in cardiovascular health and act preventively to address issues such as high blood pressure.
Another of the company’s commercial goals is to have hospitals provide patients with the device as they are discharged, so they can scan themselves at home following surgery and help head off readmissions.
Since the company’s debut, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed new value on remote patient monitoring technologies—a market that passed $23.2 billion in 2020, and is on track to grow past $72 billion by 2025, Casana estimated. However, many current devices see infrequent adherence or can be too burdensome on users with daily notifications and reminders.
As healthcare moves from the doctor’s office into the home, convenient home monitoring is becoming increasingly important for patient care.
Said Jeffrey Leiden, Casana’s chairman of the board, and former CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.
Proverbs 14:33
I cannot be dogmatic, but why a “smart toilet?” I think for the same reason the media is starting push the narrative of checking wastewater, sewers, feces, and toilets for supposed Covid residue and RNA. Of course, it is not for this un-isolated virus, but rather to “justify” tracking every last thing people say and do.
As I always say, these technologies are introduced with trying to solve some minor health goal, but we all know it would not be used for that. There are SO many other heart technologies, so why in the world would you need it in a toilet seat? Exactly.
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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Wow. Even our bum cheeks aren’t safe from these sociopaths.
You have to wonder what kind of mind someone has to come up with a device such as this. I think I’ll keep my stupid toilet seat.