SPACE (MedTech) Pte Ltd
Developing Smart Medical Products in the Cardiopulmonary Space

The journey of SPACE (MedTech) Pte. Ltd. began with the idea of using acoustic technology to provide early intervention for heart failure. The idea was first mooted by Dr. David Foo, who was the head of the Cardiology Department in Tan Tock Seng hospital of Singaporeand Wee Ser, who was then an associate professor of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. After years of joint research, the proof of principle was established.

In 2018, Wee Ser and QianhuiPeh in the School of EEE in NTU decided to work together towards translating the research outcome into a real-world product. With the same passion and vision, their common dream of benefiting patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases was realized as they co-founded SPACE (MedTech) in 2019. After numerous attempts on the design of the product, the co-founders conceived the final product design into a general platform that uses an acoustic sensor, mobile phone apps, and cloud server implemented with proprietary algorithms. Today, SPACE (MedTech) offers a truly home-based medical device that enables early intervention, and self-assessment and self-management of heart failure disease.

By leveraging on AI and acoustic technologies, SPACE (MedTech) has ensured that the device is objective, accurate, non-invasive, and can be used by anyone.

“Our vision is that remote monitoring, self-assessment, and self-management of cardiopulmonary diseases will be a common way of life. We are devoted in building SPACE (MedTech) into an innovative leader with DeepTech ability in smart medical devices for effective disease management,” says Wee Ser, the Co-Founder and Director of SPACE (MedTech).

SPACE (MedTech) works on the idea that it is important to intervene in the disease early. This requires frequent monitoring of the disease, but there are three major challenges. First, the current gold standard of using X-ray is harmful to the body and cannot be done frequently. The second challenge is that the common practice of using weight is neither accurate nor specific enough. And lastly, there is no such product in the current market that is truly home-based, non-invasive and allows patients to intervene early and self-manage their Heart Failure condition. With SPACE (MedTech)’s Heart Failure Monitor, patients can monitor their condition frequently, directly, and accurately. Doctors are also able to monitor and analyze patients’ conditions remotely and attend to them if any patient’s condition deteriorates.

The strategy of SPACE (MedTech) is simple: to build a platform that can be used to produce a suite of products in the Cardiopulmonary space. Over the years, they have collected a good amount of medical data pertaining to this solution, which allowed them to develop the necessary AI algorithms. While SPACE (MedTech) has already completed its first product, R&D for the second product has already begun. Looking forward, SPACE (MedTech) will be actively marketing and selling its product in the countries of interest, including Singapore and Indonesia. “We are also participating in some international accelerator programmes, such as the Go Beyond Explorer Track Program (the Netherlands), to commercialize our product,” mentionedQianhui, Co-founder and Director of SPACE (MedTeh).

Meanwhile, one of SPACE (MedTech)’s next products will be an advanced version of the current Heart Failure Monitor. It will measure more physiological parameters and provide more detailed information about heart failure. This product will enable not only early intervention but also provide crucial information for effective treatment purposes. SPACE (MedTech) will also be rolling out other products using the same platform that will enable remote monitoring of a suite of cardiopulmonary diseases. “Remote monitoring has been the trend for well-being healthcare products over the past decade. Such a trend is slowly creeping in for medical grade devices as the medical community and investors realize its huge potential. SPACE (MedTech) has positioned itself to be a crucial piece of this new wave of technopreneurship,” concludes Wee Ser.