EarlySense Ltd. has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Welch Allyn Inc. to distribute EarlySense's Proactive Patient Care Solutions to hospitals in the US. EarlySense CEO Avner Halperin told "Globes", "We estimate the market potential at $4-5 billion. We expect sales to increase by hundreds of percent."
The EarlySense system enables doctors to identify early warning signs of patient safety risk and deterioration, improving patient care and avoiding adverse events. The contactless system, placed under the mattress, measures a patient's heart rate, respiration rate, movement in bed, and bed entries and exits. In the event of a change in a patient's status, the system immediately and simultaneously provides alerts to the clinical staff via the bedside monitor, the central nursing station, hallway displays, and directly to their pagers or in-house telephones.
Halperin said, "For nearly 100 years, Welch Allyn has been providing innovative solutions that advance frontline patient care. As a leading patient vital signs solutions provider within the medical /surgical floors of hospitals across the US, we believe our work with Welch Allyn will accelerate adoption of EarlySense's technology." He added that the companies were targeting more than one million acute care beds at US hospitals. "EarlySense's technology and expertise in systems-based products and solutions coupled with Welch Allyn's sales, marketing, implementation and support strength, puts EarlySense's contact-free patient monitoring solution on a clear path to becoming the standard of care."
EarlySense was founded in 2004 by Halperin, Guy Shinar, and serial entrepreneurs Danny Lange and Yossi Gross. The company is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts and has its development offices in Ramat Gan. EarlySense has raised $43 million from Israeli funds Pitango Venture Capital, Challenge Fund - Etgar, and ProSeed Venture Capital Fund (TASE:PRSD), as well as Docor International Management Ltd., JK&B, Noaber, Bridge Investment Fund, and private investor Peter Soderberg.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 4, 2013
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