IOT ^ Healthcare = Elder Care

Great insights from panel at IoT event on 'Quantified Self - Reimagining Wellness and Care'. Any IoT venture in healthcare starting up in India will do well to incorporate these suggestions from expert panel, here are a few that I managed to put down in my notes;

1. Wellness devices might not have that much potential in India, preferred approach is to work with providers to deliver care.

2. Just doing device might not work out, you need a complete service to make it happen.

3. Services that enable home care for elderly and chronic patients have high potential.

Overall, all the panel members singled out home care for elders as the most interesting application area for IoT. Do it right and these eminent people will be more than willing to help you.

Further, you might want to read the views of each panel member before meeting them :-)

Panel Host - Arvind Tiwari

Firstly, read this great article before the event about wearables  by Arvind.

He started by defining 'Quantified Self' as he understood it personally, sharing his own success and failures with applying it to himself and family - so we know he plays golf, has a son whose weight worries him and found out that he is lactose intolerant :-)

Few pointers from him:

- Market might not yet be ready for VC to invest, need a lot of patience in this opportunity.

- Athletes use IoT and quantified self the most

- Halter, 9 or 12 leads. 4 companies are trying to replace. 

- Personalized health is on the way Mapmygenome is like 23andme in India.

- Believes that Ayurveda and Homeopathy are considered quacks although they are more personalized.

- Talked about some interesting research at Indian Institute of Science, shockwave lab that does away with use of syringes and another one using fluid dynamics.

Panel Member - Veera S Raghavan, Dell

Veera shared that Dell acts as a catalyst for IoT start-ups, great opportunity to partner with a global player for young Indian start-ups. 

Panel Member - Gopal Devanahalli, Manipal Hospitals

He stressed on patient experience and operational efficiency being important from a provider's perspective. Very encouraging and keen to partner with IoT platforms and devices in home health,specially for elders. Potentially reach 2 million patients a year with them. Indian start-ups have a chance, provided they do the right groundwork and get certification to get acceptance. After care of patients who have undergone surgery was cited as a need. Ideal customer to help develop your proposition in the market.

Panel Member - Srikanth Sundararajan, Helion

Guided the start-ups to focus on scalable opportunities and focus on one thing, giving interesting examples from global markets - abcor and theronos. Several valuable inputs for IoT start-ups from him, Asked sharp questions on the business model, product and value proposition to each start-up. Although it will be tough to get his consent for investment,, his advice is worth as much as the money :-)

Panel Member - Sourav Sipani, Get Active

Changing behavior is a huge challenge, nobody wants to do what is good for them unless it is worked into a game or competition. They have managed to quantify footsteps for several thousand employees of corporate customers and shown real improvement in fitness habits. Not discouraged by global competition or minor glitches as long as customers are adapting to the product and service offered by GetActive. Inspiring early player in this market, watch out for their progress!!

Given the limited time, the panel kept the discussion to a high level. Meeting them individually will provide much deeper insights and guidance. 

Hope this helps you pursue IoT in Healthcare as a start-up in India. Go for it, there is a big global opportunity!!