The Coming Age of the Virtual MD

Friends:

I'm proud to be advising an innovative young company called CellScope (I’m also leading the search for the company’s next CEO, so if you believe you are a candidate, or know of a great one, please be in touch) -- whose vision is to make our phones truly empowered digital health tools ...

Their first foray in this odyssey is called Oto HOME, an otoscope (the device docs use to peer into your ears) which attaches to the iPhone, that allows a parent in the wee hours of the morning to capture a video image inside the ear of a child and seamlessly transmit to a pediatrician in the CellScope network for a diagnosis (ear infection or not), and then have a prescription sent to a local pharmacy.

For any parent who's stressed over the suffering of a child (late at night, on the road, in a remote area) this service is a godsend. The company launched its service for consumers in December of 2014 (CA-only) and now has over 2,000 devices in the hands of both consumers and clinicians. And during its beta period 800 pediatricians participated by using the Oto CLINIC version of the device while capturing the world's largest cache of images inside the ear. The fact that this young company has captured the largest number of images of this type is quite interesting and indicates the nascent nature of the digital health market. We're so used to visiting our MDs in-clinic and experiencing what has been an largely analog environment. They examine us, use a variety of tools to do so, and the readings from these tools are sometimes entered into an electronic record. But the devices used to analyze our vitals or health in the MDs office are not connected to software or algorithms that aid in providing us with a better diagnosis or treatment.

This is the promise of CellScope, now going through its 510k process with the FDA to gain clearance for the way its software analyzes ear infections utilizing its iPhone compatible device. What the company already knows having captured and analyzed so many images inside the ear, is that their proprietary algorithm is extremely accurate in diagnosing ear infections -- an independent panel of expert ENTs has confirmed this. From a consumer perspective, it may take a little while for the mainstream to get comfortable with the idea of a "virtual MD" diagnosing an infection or disease in our bodies. After all, we are all familiar with the (legitimate) benefits of the in-person visit to our MD and the reassuring words that get us so much placebo. 

This isn't to say that CellScope is trying to disintermediate our MDs -- far from it. Their first offering is really an improved eco-system among parent, patient (child) and MD, potentially offering all three an enhanced experience. Sometimes we just want some information asap about what's going on in our bodies (e.g. at 2am), and sometimes we want that "hands-on" experience with our doc. But what we can all benefit from is the data CellScope is gathering and the machine-learning going on in the background of their algorithm, which can deliver instant and accurate information. 

Imagine the extensibility of this strategy to the rest of our bodes -- from skin to eyes to throat, etc. Imagine what this platform will be able to do as the native capabilities of the phone improve over time enabling the capture of more and better biometric data, allowing all parties to benefit from instant feedback, data-driven accuracy (fyi, human MDs only get diagnoses right 55% of the time), and faster healing.

There will certainly come a day (date TBD) where it is accepted practice for a range of devices to gather data about our bodies and deliver diagnoses. The challenge and the opportunity for all involved is to find the right combination of machines and human doctors in the delivery of care and the transformation of the healthcare system. 

Best regards,

Jon

CEO, Slavet Advisors LLC