The ATDC and our member companies have been adapting while dealing with COVID-19. The ATDC has moved classes online, and has been continuing to work with our member companies in a virtual coaching environment.
“The good news is that the coaching and curriculum that ATDC provides works well in a virtual format. Our coaches are busier now than ever working with our startups every day to navigate this situation,” said ATDC Director, John Avery. “It’s been interesting to see how entrepreneurs are well suited for crisis situations. Since many of our staff are also entrepreneurs they have been very proactive to adapt our services quickly”
Meanwhile, a number of startups in the ATDC’s Signature and Accelerate portfolio are offering products and services to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. ATDC’s HealthTech Catalyst, Berkley Baker, has been working with companies in the HealthTech portfolio as they navigate these unusual times. “During WWII, about 850 private boats helped rescue over 330,000 soldiers on the beaches at Dunkirk. They came as they were, to help with the need. I’m grateful how many of the ATDC companies are supporting the frontline efforts of our healthcare community,” Baker said while discussing how ATDC companies have risen to meet the challenges presented by COVID-19.
From testing, to helping create safer environments for patients and healthcare providers, here are some of the innovative things that ATDC companies are working on during the crisis.
(This list is subject to updates, please continue to check back to see new initiatives from ATDC companies.)
Acivilate – Government agencies can now launch Acivilate’s PokketSM app within days for confidential engagement of vulnerable citizens as prolonged work at home becomes necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic. PokketSM allows government agencies to secure the health and well-being of its staff and citizens by minimizing the need for face-to-face contact, allowing all parties to collaborate and check-in via their smartphone.
Camellix/Protecteav – An ATDC Educate company in our ATDC Augusta portfolio has developed and is commercializing virucidal products against nonenveloped viruses such as norovirus.
Coordinated Care, Inc. – CCI is working with urban hospitals likely to be dealing with COVID-19 on their upcoming capacity issues, by moving stable, non-affected patients to rural hospitals for their post-acute care. This will free up space and staff in urban hospitals to allow them to focus on providing care for those affected by the crisis.
Corstrata – Technology-enabled solution provides patients virtual access to its board-certified wound and ostomy specialists. Given that patients with complex and chronic wounds are at high-risk for COVID-19, Corstrata effectively monitors and manages these patients as they shelter in place in their homes with the latest Telehealth and Patient Engagement Technologies.
Curricula – Curricula is offering free Coronavirus phishing tests that you can use to help train your employees. After seeing countless organizations fall victim to phishing scams, misinformation, and other cyber attacks, we wanted to do our part to help fight back. Remember, this phishing test isn’t designed to trick employees, it’s designed to reinforce positive communications behavior and create a lessons learned surrounding this tough time within your organization. Use the phishing test to create that moment within your employees eyes of how easy hackers can claim to be someone else and teach them how to recognize those threats in the future. Read more here.
Docsnap – Docsnap is the only mobile app that enables families to collect and exchange their medical records with their care providers with a touch of a button. Using HIPAA-compliant technology and healthcare standard formats for exchanging medical records, docsnap ensures every American can advocate for themselves and their loved ones during a medical crisis by providing their doctors with accurate data they can trust.
Dr. Noze Best – Developing a novel nasal suction device, the Nozebot, for caregivers to reduce the viral transmission of COVID-19 from children, who are often asymptomatic, to their caregivers. Infants and small children get 6 to 10 colds a year, and in this climate of heightened awareness of viral infection, many parents are using mouth suction devices to clean their infant’s nose, but putting themselves at risk. The Nozebot will provide best in class suction in a portable, rechargeable form factor that also allows the caregiver to hold their infant’s head and suction at the same time without suctioning on a tube and risking their own infection. Some of our users have also pointed out that the Nozebot may also be useful in elderly patients who are unable to blow their nose, thus reducing aersolization of viral particles and reducing COVID-19 spread.
Ethos Medical – The COVID-19 outbreak has placed immense strain on hospitals and healthcare providers, causing a rapid depletion of PPE stocks and forcing clinicians to take drastic measures to keep themselves safe. In confronting such a widespread supply shortage without a foreseeable end, Ethos and its partners are developing devices to address PPE shortages while improving resource utilization and material efficiency.
Field Pros Direct – Georgia-based insurtech IA firm and TPA, Field Pros Direct, launched a new feature to their mobile-friendly adjusting platform, which will allow Insurers to process claims without necessarily sending an adjuster on site. In effort to “flatten the curve” this will not only help protect adjusters, but will give policyholders peace of mind knowing they can still process their claims without risking exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19).
FortifyData – With cyber attacks taking advantage of the pandemic, FortifyData is offering their platform for free for 30 days to help businesses protect themselves during this crisis. Read more here, and sign up for their free service.
FraudScope – As COVID-19 spreads, Fraudscope is already seeing an increase in the number of fraud and abuse scams across the country. Existing fraud, waste and abuse detection technologies are not designed to identify such new schemes in a timely manner which could lead to significant losses at the health plan taking away precious resources from real patient care. FraudScope is the only AI-based technology specifically designed to protect health plans from losing their limited healthcare dollars to these new scams. Fraudscope can quickly deploy in a matter of weeks and can deliver impactful results. Learn more here.
EHLP – Using existing telemedicine platform, EHLP is currently working with partners in China to provide health consultations from the US to patients that are travel restricted due to COVID-19.
Grassroots Labs – Grassroots Labs is working with their lab testing partners to be able to participate in scaling direct-to-consumer COVID-19 testing as soon as possible. Currently, Grassroots Labs offers affordable lab testing services direct-to-consumers being served by digital health companies and/or medical providers using telemedicine services during the coronavirus pandemic. Lab testing is provided by national CLIA certified labs across 46 states.
Goodr – Goodr has started a breakfast and lunch service for Atlanta Public School students; working with school social workers to find homebound families in need. Read more here.
Hire Ground – Hire Ground is connecting frontline organizations to the personal protective equipment and critical supplies they need in order to stay safe and continue their work during this pandemic. The team is coordinating with manufacturers, educators, scientists, grocers, and suppliers in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Here, hospitals and other frontline teams report what supplies they need and suppliers report what supplies they have. By aggregating this key data, HireGround aims to put life-saving equipment into the hands of frontline health workers and first responders as quickly as possible and bring transparency and coordination in order to help address the needs of our nation in real-time. If you have any questions or want to help with getting supplies to healthcare facilities, please email at info@hireground.io
Hub Hygiene – Hub Hygiene develops medical cleaning/sterilization products (IPA-saturated melamine sponges) which help stop the spread of preventable infections.
Keenly Health – Keenly Health offers a revolutionary patient and resident monitoring system that continually tracks vital signs, movement and visitor presence without leads, cuffs or pressure-based sensors. This allows for remote monitoring, and for patients to have virtual visits instead of in-person (contact) visits.
Talli – Talli has adapted their event-logging app to become a symptom tracker for COVID-19. Those worried they or a loved one might contract COVID-19 can spot warning signs early and provide thorough and accurate information to their physician to support diagnosis and test/no-test decisions. And those quarantining at home following a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 can self-monitor and report to their doctors virtually during the follow-up period. Patients can share full symptom records, including photos, with their doctors via email.