Since its establishment, BioSensics has created new paradigms in using wearable sensors in healthcare and revolutionized the medical alert industry by creating technologies that are now being used by thousands of older adults.
Falls are the number one cause of injuries and death from injury for older Americans in the U.S. – with 29 million falls, 3 million emergency department (ED) visits, 800,000 hospitalizations, and 28,000 deaths per year. BioSensics was founded in 2007 by three scientists from Harvard University with the vision of transforming the healthcare industry through innovative technologies.
BioSensics received its first Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in 2009. Since then, BioSensics has leveraged Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/STTR funding to support its research and development programs in aging in place, neurological disorders, and more recently medical imaging. BioSensics advanced medical alert solution with automatic fall detection, continuous fall risk and physical activity monitoring, and non-compliance alerts has made medical alert solutions more robust and effective for older adults and patients. The technology was licensed and integrated into medical alert devices sold by GreatCall (now part of Best Buy Co, Inc.), Mytrex, and the Essence Group. Thousands of devices containing the licensed technology were sold by licensing partners through various marketing channels, including shelf presence in Walmart, Target, and Rite Aid.
In addition, BioSensics has developed three Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – registered medical devices, and transformed the use of wearable sensors and digital technologies in clinical trials. In addition to providing funding to support the company’s research and development programs, the grant application process has helped BioSensics refine its ideas and research directions, using the feedback from the review process, which has proved to be invaluable at different stages of product development and commercialization.
Based on support from the SBIR/STTR program, the company launched its ‘clinical trial business’ in 2018. BioSensics has already established partnerships with some of the largest pharmaceutical companies and research institutions and hospitals in this area and is transforming the use of wearable sensors and digital technologies in clinical trials. BioSensics solutions are now empowering novel healthcare initiatives and important clinical trials in a variety of therapeutic areas.