Orthopedic Innovator Lumov Raises $1.2M to Expand Post‑Surgical Recovery and Rehabilitation Products in India

Bengaluru-based Lumov, an innovator in orthopedic recovery and rehabilitation products space, has raised a Seed Round of INR 10 Crore/ $1.2 Mn led by Incubate Fund Asia, with participation from QRG Investments and Holdings (Havells Family Office), IIMA Ventures, SIDBI, and several other noted angel investors, including Ashish Gupta (Helion Advisors), Saket Narang (Steinberg India), Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn), Arjun Vaidya, Indian Silicon Valley, Mapaex Family Office and others also participated in the round. The newly raised capital will fuel Lumov’s growth, expansion, and deepen its product development pipeline.

Lumov designs and manufactures advanced orthopedic products and orthoses that support post-surgical recovery, rehabilitation, and lifestyle-driven pain management. Lumov’s comprehensive range of products is engineered for clinical effectiveness, patient comfort, and India-specific anatomy and weather conditions, ensuring better compliance and improved recovery outcomes. The company develops its product with eminent orthopedic specialists at hospital chains such as Manipal, Apollo, Sakra, and AIG.

The funding comes at a time when India is facing a quiet but fast-growing musculoskeletal (MSK) epidemic. With an ageing population, increasingly sedentary lifestyles, rising orthopedic surgeries, fragmented product options, and low awareness about early MSK care, the demand for high-quality, clinically superior orthopedic products is expanding rapidly. While the Indian medical devices market is moving toward USD 50 billion by 2030, the orthotics and rehabilitation segment remains deeply under-innovated, sitting between low-quality mass market products and expensive global imports. Lumov aims to bridge this large gap by building India-first orthopedic solutions grounded in clinical expertise and modern design.

The company will use the fresh capital to drive growth, deepen collaboration with top orthopedic surgeons across India, and accelerate the development of the next generation of products. The fund will also support geographic expansion into Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, scaling its sales operations and strengthening its manufacturing capabilities for post-surgical and rehab-focused bracing products. Lumov currently has a core team of 15 members, which will grow significantly as part of this expansion effort.

Founded by Saumaric Dangwal and Ankit Gupta, IIT Kharagpur & Harvard Business School Alumni with deep investing experience in healthcare, pharma, and consumer, Lumov brings a uniquely strong understanding of the country’s medical ecosystem. Saumaric has previously worked with Bain Capital as a healthcare and consumer investor, while Ankit has been associated with Brookfield Private Equity and Steinberg Asset Management. Collectively, they have overseen over $1.5Billion in invested capital across healthcare and allied sectors, giving them strong insights into clinical needs and gaps in patient recovery pathways.

Commenting on the announcement, Co-Founders, Saumaric Dangwal and Ankit Gupta, shared –

India is in the midst of an orthopaedic health crisis. While advances in diagnostics and care delivery are improving outcomes, we are building the physical product layer, premium, high-quality orthotics, rehabilitation aids, and pain-management solutions designed to accelerate recovery and help people live pain-free, active lives

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"The musculoskeletal (MSK) care category, particularly in post-surgical recovery, rehabilitation, and lifestyle-driven pain relief, is poised for significant innovation. Lumov’s surgeon-led approach, Saumaric and Ankit's profound market understanding, and integration of modern design principles instill high confidence that they can emerge as a category-defining company in MSK care," said Rajeev Ranka, Partner at Incubate Fund Asia.

On the funding, Ramesh Sharma, President of QRG Investments & Holdings, “What impressed us about Lumov is not just the product portfolio, but the long-term vision to build an integrated MSK products platform. Saumaric and Ankit bring clarity of thought, speed of execution, and strong clinical partnerships that position Lumov to build a category-creating company in musculoskeletal health."

With strong clinical partnerships, India-focused product development, and a rapidly expanding market, Lumov aims to become a leading name in orthopedic recovery and rehabilitation, shaping the future of MSK care for millions of Indians.

About Lumov

Lumov is a Bengaluru-based medical device company building clinically superior orthopedic and rehabilitation products tailored to the Indian population. The company designs and manufactures advanced orthotics, bracing systems, and pain management solutions that enhance post-operative recovery, support rehabilitation, and improve patient outcomes. Developed in collaboration with leading orthopedic surgeons and top hospital chains, Lumov’s products combine clinical expertise, modern design, and India-specific user needs. The company partners with renowned institutions, including Manipal, SAKRA, and AIG, and is focused on innovating across the MSK and rehabilitation ecosystem.

To know more about, check https://www.lumovhealth.com/

ISB-Incubated Company S3V Vascular Comes Out with New-age Neuro Medical Devices Useful in Reversing Paralysis

Dr.Vijay, N.G. Badari Narayan and M.V Gowthama

The plant for manufacturing the same will be designed and built as per USFDA norms.

While 20 lakh brain strokes take place in India each year, just 1500 only go to the Interventional procedures. 

S3V is striving to bring high-end stroke treatment technology to the common man

S3V Vascular Technologies, a company incubated at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad in 2011 by Alumni of the PGPMAX founding batch has come out with India’s first and revolutionary medical devices useful in reversing paralysis. They include Neuro Clot Retriever, Neuro Aspiration Catheter, and Neuro Microcatheter. These devices will be formally launched in Hyderabad by Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, at a function in the city on 15th December.

Prof Balram Bhargava, Chief of Cardiothoracic Sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi & former Director General of ICMR and Dr Mathew Cherian, Past president of the Indian society of vascular and interventional radiology will also participate and grace.

S3V for the past few years has been working on the design and development of the Hardware used in Mechanical Thrombectomy.

Giving details, addressing the press conference Mr. N.G. Badari Narayan founder and Head of Medical Devices at S3V and formerly MD of Relisys, which was known for introducing Kalam-Raju stent, said about 20 lakh brain strokes take place in India each year. But only 1500 patients undergo procedures. With the launch of these futuristic products, we hope that the number of procedures may go up to at least 2.5 lakh per annum in the next decade. With these devices, if the procedures are done in time within the golden hour, there is a high chance for blood flow to be restored and paralysis reversed, he added.

Neuro Clot Retriever Neuro Aspiration Catheter Neuro Microcathete

Dr. Vijay, Mr. N.G. Badari Narayan and Mr. M.V Gowthama

The gold standard of treatment of ischemic brain stroke (stroke due to a blockage of brain vessels due to clot) is Mechanical Thrombectomy which involves an interventional procedure done in a cath lab to remove the clot stuck in the vessel of the brain.

Badari Narayan brings with him 32 years of medical device domain experience. Our endeavor is not only to introduce these products but also to make them affordable.

The company has received test licenses and soon will commence commercial production upon receiving the nod for manufacturing also, he added.

S3V is engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of a variety of Medical Devices, more particularly, Cardiac Devices, Neuro Devices, Nephro Devices, Onco Devices and Peripheral Devices. Now it is foraying into high precision Neuro Devices and electronics based catheters. It focuses on the manufacturing of NextGen medical devices indigenously. The neuro devices we are talking about are manufactured only by a handful of two or three countries all over the world. These are the state-of-the-art, highly advanced stents brought out only by us informed Mr. M.V. Gowthama, Director of the company who is the former CMD of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). Mr. Gowthama brings with him the core expertise in the design, development and manufacturing of critical electronic products.

Both the Directors are from Telugu states. S3V has its manufacturing facility at Mysore. The new manufacturing facility will come in Mysore District. The Government of Karnataka has allotted 8.81 acres of land. The new plant will be designed and built as per USFDA norms. The new facility will house cutting-edge technologies for integrated manufacturing. The company is likely to invest INR 200 Crore in the new plant.

Stroke also causes maximum disability leading to partial or complete paralysis in a patient next only to Road Traffic Accidents in India. Of all the strokes, 87% of strokes are due to a thrombus. Stroke not only affects the elderly but is increasingly being seen in individuals in the 35-50 age group due to lifestyle modifications.

Lack of Patient awareness, lack of trained manpower, high cost of hardware and lack of government reimbursement schemes are a hindrance to treatment with this procedure. The Current cost of the Hardware costs nearly INR 5 lakhs and the total procedure cost is between INR 8 to 12 Lakhs. Currently, the procedure covers less than 1% of the Stroke patient as more than 99% of Indians can’t afford this procedure.

S3V is striving to bring high-end stroke treatment technology to the common man. The challenge India faces starts from a lack of awareness, affordable hardware and availability of trained manpower in the form of intervention physicians. S3V is trying to address the entire ecosystem of this challenge.

Biomedical Start-up Nayam Innovations Raises Funding from Bharat Innovation Fund, IAN Fund and Others

Nayam Innovations is building a transformative technology for cataract patients.

Nayam Innovations Pvt Ltd, an IP-driven, medical device start-up built with a bold vision to eliminate blindness from the world, has today announced that it has secured its latest round of investment. The round was led by IAN Fund – a uniquely differentiated seed/early-stage fund and Bharat Innovation Fund - a leading deep tech-focused venture capital fund. The Vinod Jain Family office, Mr Sameer Desai- President of Zydus Cadila and a few angel investors also participated in this round. This round of financing will primarily be used to complete human clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the technology and set the stage for launching the product in India as well as the US, Europe, Singapore, China and Japan.

Founded by Dr Julia Ann Kornfield, Dr Surendra Ponrathnam and Tanuj Gigras, Nayam Innovations has developed a novel technology platform that allows surgeons to customize the intraocular lens either before or after surgery to neutralize refractive errors like astigmatism, myopia (near-sightedness) and hyperopia (far sightedness). Nayam technology eliminates the need for any post-surgical intervention like wavefront-corrected LASIK or progressive spectacles. The company also aims to lower the manufacturing cost of hydrophobic foldable IOLs to make its technology affordable to every cataract patient in need.

Commenting on the announcement, Tanuj Gigras, Co-Founder, CEO and CTO said, “We are building a technology that will be useful for every cataract patient regardless of their lifestyle and economic status. Much of our population does not have access to the best technology. We want to make state-of-the-art available to the masses. We believe everyone should be able to have access to top quality health care in India regardless of their economic status."

Ashwin Raguraman, Co-founder and Partner at Bharat Innovation Fund said, “Nayam Technologies' innovation sits at the intersection of material science, optics and health and promises to redefine the outcomes of cataract surgery for a patient. If successful, Nayam will transform the way older people across the world experience quality of eyesight. We are delighted to partner with the team at Nayam towards achieving this goal. .”

Sudipta Gautam, Managing Partner IAN Fund said, “We see great potential in Nayam’s futuristic technology which combines material science and engineering with innovative manufacturing processes. Tanuj and his team are well on their way to creating a global visual optics company which will have a great impact on society in the years to come”.

With rising life expectancy and earlier onset of cataract compared to prior generations, patients irrespective of economic class are either working for a living or maintaining an active lifestyle even after their cataract surgery. Hence, there is a need for a fully customizable IOL that can not only correct cataract but also refractive errors at the same time and enable a spectacle-free vision.

Previously Nayam Innovations had also raised funds in the form of grants and equity from Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Venture Center- India’s largest science-based business incubator; and Villgro Innovations Foundation and a clutch of industry veterans. Villgro and Venture Center plays an important role on the board of Nayam and has also provided support to incubate the company in its early stages.

Bharat Innovation Fund is a Pre-Series-A/Series-A, fund led by seasoned investment and technology professionals with a focus on IP-driven deep tech solutions. It is part of CIIE.CO’s innovation continuum providing early-stage support to start-ups who are building companies of consequence.

IAN Fund, Indian Angel Network’s maiden VC Fund is a uniquely differentiated seed/early-stage Fund that aims to transform India’s entrepreneurial landscape. Registered with SEBI, the 375-crore fund has invested in innovative companies in sectors including healthcare and medical devices, VR, AI, software-as-a-service, marketplaces, fin-tech, big data, artificial intelligence, and hardware. IAN Fund leverages and builds upon the strengths and success of IAN, the single largest platform for seed and early-stage investing, enabling entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 25 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores.

Nayam Innovations is an IP-driven, medical device start-up founded in 2012, by Dr Julia Ann Kornfield, Dr. Surendra Ponrathnam and Tanuj Gigras. It is developing a platform that enables patients and surgeons to customise intraocular lenses, enabling spectacle-free LASIK-quality vision at all distances without the need for progressive eyewear. Nayam is centred on transformative technology that will help both emerging and developed nations to lower their ballooning cataract surgery bills

Chennai-based Medical Device Firm Kriya Medical Technologies Gets Manufacturing License for KRIVIDA Novus RT-PCR Kit

Kriya Medical Technologies, a medical devices company headquartered in Chennai, has received its manufacturing license from the DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India) for its product KRIVIDA Novus, an RT-PCR kit that can detect the Omicron variant and its sub-lineages in 45 minutes.

Priced at Rs 150 +taxes, the test is affordable and most suitable for entry point screening at airports. The kit is compatible with Real-Time PCR machines with a test run time of roughly 45 minutes. It provides early report to aid diagnosis and also gives precise variants to enable appropriate treatment.

KRIVIDA Novus will be produced at Kriya’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Oragadam in Chennai. The company currently has a production capacity of 5 million tests per month and plans to increase it to 10 million tests per month within the next two weeks.

Anu Moturi, CEO and Founder, Kriya Medical Technologies, said, “I thank the ICMR and DCGI for their swift action. Acquiring this license is yet another milestone and a step towards our vision of making good healthcare affordable and accessible to all. Our focus is to make testing for Covid-19 variants faster, affordable and accessible to everyone, thereby enabling swift prevention and timely treatment. Since KRIVIDA Novus can detect the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) and all its sub-lineages, such as BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3 in 45 minutes, it is most ideal and beneficial for entry point screening at airports and remobilisation of normal conditions in workplace and institutions.”

Kriya Medical Technologies has a pipeline of new products that will be released in the market over the next few months to address rapidly evolving mutations and other allied infections.

All you need to know about KRIVIDA Novus

• KRIVIDA Novus RT-PCR kit has been developed by KRIYA Medical technologies in collaboration with ImmuGenix Bioscience
• KRIVIDA Novus kit can detect COVID-19 and differentiate the other variants from Omicron in single-tube assay.
• Our KRIVIDA NOVUS kit is compatible with most Real-Time PCR machines with a test run time of 45 minutes, enabling the testing sites to conduct 2,160 tests within 24 hrs.
• The kit detects SARS-CoV-2 using five different gene targets and it has a variant specific S gene probe for the newly emerged Omicron.
• KRIVIDA Novus picks up all the sub-lineages of Omicron, such as, BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3
• The test is most suitable for entry point screening at airports

About KRIYA

KRIYA is a Make in India initiative. It’s an emerging Medical Device company headquartered in Chennai, India. The company is focused on innovating digitally integrated diagnostic solutions designed to expand access to affordable health care delivering good health for all.

Website: https://www.kriyamed.com/

For Uninterrupted Supply of Quality Medical Devices, Indian MedTech Association Demands Cuts in Taxes & Duties

Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI), which represents leading research-based medical technology companies with large footprint in manufacturing, R&D and training in India, today said Union Budget 2019-20 should reduce taxes and duties to enable continuous supply of quality medical devices in the country.

The current regulatory regime mandates absolute price ceiling for medical devices like orthopaedic implants and stents, and allows a limited 10% annual price increase for other notified products. This is irrespective of cost challenges and exchange rate increases faced by companies. Approximately, 70% of medical devices are imported into India to meet the rising demand for quality healthcare.

“India is witnessing a spurt in demand for quality healthcare, and our member companies are committed to providing the latest technology in the Indian market. Since the government is trying to reduce the cost of healthcare, it must do so without compromising the ability of the industry to bring innovation to the Indian patients, this also requires streamlining of the tax structure and rationalization of duty regime with immediate effect,” MTaI Director, Mr. Sanjay Bhutani said.

The following issues need immediate measures in the budget this year:

1. High Custom Duties: High custom duties have adversely impacted the costs of products in India which contradicts the government’s efforts to provide low-cost healthcare available to masses through the Ayushman Bharat program (PMJAY). We seek reduction of custom duties to 2.5% including all surcharges.Additionally, since the custom duty regime on most medical devices in neighbouring countries of Nepal, Myanmar, Sri-Lanka, and Bhutan is lower than in India, the duty differential could lead to smuggling of low-bulk-high-value devices. The result will not only be loss of revenue for the government but also the patient will be beset with products which are not backed by adequate legal and service guarantees.
   

   Comparison of customs duty in India with neighbouring countries

   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   Item	HSN Code	India*	Sri Lanka	Bhutan	Nepal	Myanmar
   Orthopedic appliances and artificial implants	9021	8.25%	Nil	Nil	Nil	1.5%
   Surgical Instruments and Appliances	9018	8.25%	Nil	Nil	5%	1.5%

   
   *Includes Social Welfare Surcharge @10% of import duty
   
   Another point to note is that China, which has near self-sufficiency in segments like consumables, has reduced custom duties from 4% to 3.3% recently to avoid the problem of smuggling and to inject competition in the sector.


2. Customs Duty & GST on Spare Parts: Custom duty on spare parts of the medical equipment are currently charged at a higher rate than the equipment itself. For example Heart Lung Machine attracts basic custom duty of 7.5% & GST of 12% whereas its spare parts like Roller Pump attracts basic customs duty of 10% and GST of 18%. Similarly, GST on Contact Lenses is 12%, whereas the Contact Lens Solution which is the essential part of using Contact Lenses attract 18% GST. We recommend that the same customs duty and GST should be charged on spare parts and medical equipment.


3. Tax Holiday for R&D: Tax holiday should be provided to medical device R&D centres under the Transfer Pricing Act to boost investment in setting up in-house R&D capabilities. We also seek tax incentives for the industry for developing global patents from India and tax deduction on income made by individuals or a company for rewards earned on patent development or patent licensing.


4. Minimum Alternate Tax: We urge the government to reduce Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) rate to 15% from the present effective rate of 21.34% (including surcharge and education Cess). The high rate of MAT has cast substantial burden on companies which are already affected by various external factors. Conceptually, MAT is a minimum and an alternate tax and hence it should not be at a rate which is more than 50% of the basic corporate tax rate. 


5. GST on Trials and Samples: GST should not be charged on trials and samples as doctors need samples/free trials/demos in order to satisfy themselves on efficacy of product in best interest of patients. Cost of trials are already built into cost structures and is a business expense. 


6. GST on Expiries: Medical device suppliers take back product expiries as per best business practice, and in order to ensure product availability at all times. However, the input GST needs to be reversed on such expiries which causes undue loss to the Industry, raising their cost of operations. We recommend that for market expiry replacements, the GST credit be available to suppliers as normal supplies. Cost of expiries are already built into cost structures and hence is a business expense and not allowing input credit contradicts basic edifice of GST.


7. Time-limit of 6 months on Sale on Approval (SOA) transaction in GST: Hospitals require device suppliers to keep critical devices in all sizes, shapes, sizes as the actual need is known only at the last minute at the time of surgery. Hence complying with the 6 months norm for charge of GST is causing a lot of distress for device suppliers and hospitals. A 24 months period will allow device suppliers to keep entire variants without issue of GST exposure on unconsumed items, while also not impacting critical patient care. 


8. GST on Healthcare Services: Healthcare services are currently exempt from GST. As a result, hospitals are not able to claim GST input. This results in higher cost of treatment for the patient.  Once zero rated, Hospitals will be able to avail GST credit on inputs, leading to lower healthcare services cost.


9. Expenditure on CSR: Expenditure on CSR is being disallowed in tax computation. CSR Expenditure has been mandated under law and therefore should be claimable as tax deductible expenditure.


10. Tax Incentives on Exports:Currently, there are no tax benefits on export income. Export being a growth engine for the economy it is important that efforts should be made to make it competitive in the international market. India’s export performance in last 2-3 years has been on a decline which impacts the balance of trade. Introduction of export incentives related to direct tax exemption for the export profits would attract more investments to sectors like medical devices.

About Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI)

Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI – pronounced as Em-tai) is a not-for-profit organization duly registered under sub-section (2) of section 7 of the Companies Act, 2013 and Rule 8 of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014.

MTaI is an association of research-based medical technology companies who have made remarkable investments in Manufacturing, R&D and Health Care Workers Training in India. MTaI represents a wide spectrum of the medical device industry with global experience in innovation and manufacturing. All the time stressing on the three hallmarks of healthcare - Quality, Consistency and Patient Safety, MTaI wants to be a responsible voice of the industry. The association is committed to improving access to affordable and quality healthcare for patients.

MTaI looks to partner with the Government of India in setting a roadmap for the growth of medical devices sector by bringing in even bigger investments in this sector, through 'Make in India’ and through technology upgradation and dissemination in the provider space.

Medical Wearable Device Startup ten3T Raises Funding from ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, pi Ventures

ten3T Healthcare, a health technology startup based in Bengaluru announced that it has raised undisclosed amount in a pre Series A round of funding led by the ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, an early stage venture capital fund of the Investment Trust of India group, with participation from earlier investors pi Ventures and previous angel investors.

The funds will be used to expand the usage of their revolutionary product, Cicer, to home care scenarios, ambulance monitoring, and pharmacovigilance studies. More than 10,000 patient hours of monitoring at hospitals and at home have already been completed using Cicer, covering more than 750 hospital beds.

Prominent angel investors who participated include Bhupen Shah (valley based angel, co-founder of Sling Media), Raghu Tarra (valley based angel, founding member of Sling Media), Krishna Prasad Chitrapura and Raghavendra Prasad (co-founders of QikWell), Dr. Vijay Chandru (co-founder of Strand Life Sciences), Deepinder Singh Dhingra (serial angel investor, chief product officer at Noodle.ai and advisor for AI/ML), Ikuto Higashi (serial angel investor in healthcare startups in the US, Japan, and India), and Rama Voruganti (a senior technologist). pi Ventures had led the company’s first round of investment in December 2016.

ten3T has commercialized patented technology for the early detection and prevention of medical episodes to patients in hospitals, during transport, and at home. Every day, more than 6000 patients experience preventable medical episodes in India. Early warning signs for these episodes show up in patient’s vitals data, hours and days before time. A majority of these patients are not monitored due to the limitations of existing monitoring platforms. ten3T’s Cicer solves this problem using clinical grade wearables, proprietary IoT technology, and predictive analytics that alert physicians and patient’s families of impending events before they happen. ten3T was recently chosen by Google to be among the top machine learning startups in India.

At the core of ten3T’s revolutionary technology is the Cicer patch, a palm sized sticker that continuously measures a patient’s vitals and presents the data to physician smartphones in as low as 4 seconds, on any smart device, anywhere in the world. The patch measures 6 leads of ECG, heart rate, respiration, patient posture and falls. The Cicer system also captures blood oxygen saturation and blood pressure. The real-time data is fed into machine learning algorithms that identify patterns in the patient’s vital signs and send timely lifesaving alerts.

ten3T was founded by Rahul Shingrani, a biomedical engineering graduate of Mumbai and Marquette University with significant experience in medical innovations at the leading medical technology firms such as Siemens, Philips, J&J, and Medtronic; Prasad Bhat, a biomedical engineer with industry leading expertise in regulatory and quality systems for medical devices, and Dr. Sudhir Borgonha, a physician and an entrepreneur (graduate of St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore and the Sloan School of Management, MIT).

Rahul Shingrani, co-founder and CEO, ten3T, said, “Patient care continues to be reactionary and episodic, with the health system’s focus on managing episodes such as heart attacks after the traumatic event. This places a large medical and financial burden on the patient, their family, and the overall system. This needs to change. Technology allows us to monitor patients anywhere and everywhere, and advances in AI enables us to pick up subtle patterns in the patient’s vitals data. For every prevented episode, we can minimise the lifelong consequences to a patient and their family."

Mohit Gulati, Founding Partner,ITI, said, “Coming from a medtech background, we as a team see greater advancements in Indian healthcare in the decade up ahead. We thereby look to invest in companies in disruptive spaces and ten3T’s device, Cicer will make traditional methods of post ICU care more easy, accessible and smart. We believe in a country like India, adoption and usage of any medical device increases with ease of use of the device and its affordability. ten3T has ticked all boxes and we hope to soon see it in every hospital and patient’s homes."

Manish Singhal, Founding Partner, pi Ventures, added, “ten3T brings together the best of the IoT technology and AI algorithms to create a world class product, Cicer for continuous monitoring. This is an emerging space and we believe that a product like Cicer can open up several interesting applications in Drug Trials, Up/ Down ICUs, home monitoring, monitoring on the move like in ambulances, etc. We wish them all the very best. “

ten3T delivers data driven clinical insights using its patented platform of intelligent, medical grade wearables for continuous vitals monitoring and proprietary health analytics to enable predictive, proactive, and effective clinical decisions. Towards this, ten3T has commercialised its AI driven, real time monitoring platform that is in use at multiple hospitals across India.

Launched in November 2018, the Investment Trust of India group started an early stage venture capital fund — ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, with a target corpus of USD 21 Mn (INR 150 Cr) for the fund. As an early-stage enabler, the fund is sector agnostic, with preference to be the first institutional investor backing entrepreneurs building sustainable disruptive businesses.

India, World Bank Sign $125 Mn Agreement To Invest in Bio-Pharma and Medical Device Innovations

The Government of India and the World Bank today signed a $125 million loan agreement to support India in developing an innovative biopharmaceutical and medical devices industry, which is globally competitive and addresses the country’s major concerns around barriers to affordable healthcare.

The Innovate in India for Inclusiveness Project (I3) will support Government of India’s Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Program (BIRAC), set up five years ago to support innovative start-ups and collaborations through strategic partnerships.

This project, will nurture next generation technical skills; provide companies with advanced shared facilities to conduct clinical validation; link clinical trial sites with networks of expert advisors and international bodies; and strengthen all institutions involved in the facilitation and adoption of global innovations, technologies, and licensing models.

The agreement for the Project was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Mohd. Aslam, Managing Director, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC); and Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank India, on behalf of the World Bank

BIRAC will now scale-up its efforts across the industry and focus on providing the ingredients that are currently missing in India’s biopharma innovation ecosystem. It will facilitate a more collaborative research and development environment (R&D), leverage the expertise of local and international players from both the public and private sectors, and make India more competitive. It will also help create an ecosystem that facilitates development of a continuous pipeline of products in the health sector. This will help India emerge as a low-cost healthcare provider for the world.

World Bank arm IFC (International Finance Corporation) has already backed quite a few Indian startups like Byju's, Lenskart, Bigbasket and Blackbuck, with ticket sizes upwards of $5 million at Series-B stage and onwards.

The IFC has, of late, been bullish on expanding its venture capital portfolio, with its venture investment portfolio standing at around $500 million till mid-2016. Over the past five-to-six years, IFC has made investments to the tune of $700 million both in direct venture investments and in venture capital funds across 15 countries.

Takeaway for Startups in India from This Agreement

As BIRAC came into existence for motive of supporting early and late stage startups in the field of bio-pharmaceuticals and medical device segment, the capital it will receive from World Bank can be accessed by startups in the form of grant-in-aid by enrolling its assistance programme and incubation it offers.

Additionally, it is to be noted that there's exclusive fund called "Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development Fund" ("SEED Fund") of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) hosted by Entrepreneurship Development Center (Venture Center), which is supported by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.

Startups, working in areas of can get capital from one of the source mentioned above to access the $125 million fund from World Bank.

Source: The World Bank

India, World Bank Sign $125 Mn Agreement To Invest in Bio-Pharma and Medical Device Innovations

The Government of India and the World Bank today signed a $125 million loan agreement to support India in developing an innovative biopharmaceutical and medical devices industry, which is globally competitive and addresses the country’s major concerns around barriers to affordable healthcare.

The Innovate in India for Inclusiveness Project (I3) will support Government of India’s Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Program (BIRAC), set up five years ago to support innovative start-ups and collaborations through strategic partnerships.

This project, will nurture next generation technical skills; provide companies with advanced shared facilities to conduct clinical validation; link clinical trial sites with networks of expert advisors and international bodies; and strengthen all institutions involved in the facilitation and adoption of global innovations, technologies, and licensing models.

The agreement for the Project was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Mohd. Aslam, Managing Director, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC); and Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank India, on behalf of the World Bank

BIRAC will now scale-up its efforts across the industry and focus on providing the ingredients that are currently missing in India’s biopharma innovation ecosystem. It will facilitate a more collaborative research and development environment (R&D), leverage the expertise of local and international players from both the public and private sectors, and make India more competitive. It will also help create an ecosystem that facilitates development of a continuous pipeline of products in the health sector. This will help India emerge as a low-cost healthcare provider for the world.

World Bank arm IFC (International Finance Corporation) has already backed quite a few Indian startups like Byju's, Lenskart, Bigbasket and Blackbuck, with ticket sizes upwards of $5 million at Series-B stage and onwards.

The IFC has, of late, been bullish on expanding its venture capital portfolio, with its venture investment portfolio standing at around $500 million till mid-2016. Over the past five-to-six years, IFC has made investments to the tune of $700 million both in direct venture investments and in venture capital funds across 15 countries.

Takeaway for Startups in India from This Agreement

As BIRAC came into existence for motive of supporting early and late stage startups in the field of bio-pharmaceuticals and medical device segment, the capital it will receive from World Bank can be accessed by startups in the form of grant-in-aid by enrolling its assistance programme and incubation it offers.

Additionally, it is to be noted that there's exclusive fund called "Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development Fund" ("SEED Fund") of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) hosted by Entrepreneurship Development Center (Venture Center), which is supported by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.

Startups, working in areas of can get capital from one of the source mentioned above to access the $125 million fund from World Bank.

Source: The World Bank

Medical Device Startup Biosense Raises $1 Mn from Menterra Venture, Artha Venture Challenge

Menterra Venture Advisors, an impact investment fund that invests in early-stage social startups has announced a new round of investment in Biosense Technologies alongside its investment partner Artha Venture Challenge, impact investment initiative of the Singh Family Foundation. With the new round, Menterra and Artha have provided more than US$1m of direct equity funding and unlocked soft debt funding of more than US$2m through its network. The Mumbai-based start-up provides quality, affordable and connected point-of-care diagnostics solutions for chronic diseases in India.

Thane, Maharashtra-based Biosense was started by a team of doctors and biomedical engineers, founded the company upon noticing the gaps in the provision of preventive care for chronic diseases, especially in non-metro cities and small towns of India. Initially, they started developing affordable medical devices that helped diagnose chronic problems from anaemia to diabetes and urine check. Today, they have six products and plan to scale up, in terms of R&D and distribution to other parts of the country.

Founded in 2008 by Abhishek Sen, Mukesh Sharma and Dr. Yogesh Patil, Biosense Technologies operates in the confluence of health, technology and people. It delivers high quality, chronic healthcare solutions, through -- “ABCD “ -- Affordable Basic Connected Diagnostics. All its products are focused on improving access to healthcare for masses through better use of technology. Through extensive use of cloud connectivity and geo-tagging Biosense generates data. Through this date and structured partnerships with leading healthcare companies as well as government agencies, Biosense enables targeted and efficient health interventions.

The funding from Menterra will help the startup optimize its supply chain, and to develop an end-to-end chronic disease solution platform for patients, in partnership with key partners in the healthcare ecosystem.

Commenting on the investment, Mukesh Sharma, Head Menterra Venture Advisors says, “We have been associated with the team for over seven years now. First through incubation-fund platform at Villgro, and then with investment and intense post-investment support beyond risk capital. The teams’ bold vision to solve the critical chronic healthcare challenge for our country at scale, never wavered through years of testing and learning. Few people know that they are one of the few ‘Make in India’ companies creating indigenous smart glucose meters and strips for diabetes testing. We are immensely happy to partner with them on their growth journey.”

There has been a curious shift in disease patterns in India from 1990 to 2016. According to the ‘Health of Nation States’ report, causes of death were fairly uniform in 1990 but are far more varied now. There is a need for different health interventions in the present day and time.

Abhishek Sen, co-founder of Biosense, puts the data in perspective, “We look at the disease shift as 3 waves in our country. Wave 1, with communicable diseases like diarrhoea have lessened but even today, when we work in rural districts, we see its deadly impact. On the other hand, with Wave 2, non-communicable diseases like diabetes are emerging as new killers. Wave 3, with mental health disorders such as mental stress, social isolation and depression etc. Many of these conditions are preventable.

The twin burden of diabetes and anaemia has become our crusade. Today, we are not just device manufacturers. We are chronic disease management solution providers.”

Biosense has conducted over more than 4m tests for chronic diseases in 2017 alone, across India. Through their ground-level work, they have been able to collect detailed data on disease patterns. Data that can target more public health interventions real-time instead of relying on information that, like many medicines, is past the expiry date for use.

Abhishek Sen added that “It has been great to partner with Menterra. They act as a long-term partner for entrepreneurs. This longevity and commitment helps entrepreneurs build the start-up from an idea to market and followed by further support to scale up. We couldn’t have asked for more committed partner to take our mission forward.”

Menterra Venture Advisors manages an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in for-profit enterprises driving impact at scale in Agriculture, Healthcare and Education sectors. Alongside its incubation partner, Villgro, Menterra has built a holistic impact incubation-fund platform that has been at the forefront of evolving impact space in India over last 18 years. Through extensive experience in idea - scale journey of a company Menterra believes that just providing risk capital is not enough. To deliver impact at scale it has built a diverse team backed by stellar network of advisors. Menterra’s deep sector focus is well aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and development priorities of the country and the government.

Recent Activities in India's Medical Device Startups

India's medical devices industry is growing at about 15 per cent annually and is expected to reach at least $25-30 billion (Rs 1.65-1.98 lakh crore) by 2025, according to a report in March by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

Last week, Delhi-based BeatO, a diabetes management startup that also makes Glucometer, has raised an institutional round of $1.3 million led by Leo Capital and co-led by Blume ventures.

In January, Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, has announced that he has invested about $10 million in vTitan, a medical device startup based out of Chennai.

To recall, Bangalore-based PathShodh has made a device that can perform 8 health tests on single platform and for this the startup has been shortlisted by National Health Systems Resources Centre (NHSRC) as a very important and useful device.

An another Bangalore based medical device startup called Museinc has built a ‘Smart Stethoscope’ to make Stethoscopes a common household device. Ten3T is also one such medical wearable device startup trying to help patients with real-time cardiac monitoring.

An another medical device startup called Cooey technologies is also a promising startup that made news when, in 2016, it launched India’s first IOT glucometer that wirelessly syncs data with a smartphone.

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited startups to focus on research for innovative medical devices and use technology to make healthcare more affordable.

“India should manufacture its own medical devices to bring down the cost. Recently, the government reduced cost of stents by 85 per cent," said Modi while addressing oncologists at Tata Memorial Hospital.

To recall, in March 2017, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has moved a cabinet note and suggestion that the maximum age for classifying a biotechnology or a medical devices firm as a startup be raised to 8-10 years from the current 5 years [Read Here].

Zoho Founder Invests In Chennai-based Medical Device Startup vTitan

Sridhar Vembu, founder of one of India's most successful startup Zoho, has announced that he has invested about $10 million in vTitan, a medical device startup based out of Chennai, reported Times of India.

Besides being the main investor Zoho has also developed the user interface and software component for the medical devices of vTitan. Additionally, Zoho is also working with vTitan to develop IoT, AI and machine learning enabled prototypes in the coming months.

Founded in 2010 by Periyakulam Kasthuri, vTitan was working along with Zoho in stealth mode for last eight years. The startup offers medical devices, the first being their patented Accuflow SP-550 and Accuflow IBP-550 syringe infusion pumps for critical care medication administration. The pumps are powered by indigenously developed and patented closed-loop motion control technology.

The Accuflow SP-550 which works on electricity is priced at Rs 35,000 while the Accuflow IBP-550 includes an integrated battery pack for portability and is priced at Rs 45,000. "This is a dream that I saw over 10 years back. It is a blessing for us to fund a startup and entrepreneur who is working towards making this dream come true," said Sridhar Vembu to TOI.

The startup has employed a closed-loop motion control technology in these pumps for which it owns the technology patent in seven countries including North America, China, UK and India. The Company also expects to receive a CE certification for the devices by March. A CE mark on a product indicates that it complies health, safety and environmental protection standards necessary for sale within the European Economic Area.

The start-up has completed trials at Apollo Hospitals, Fortis Malar, Sri Ramachandra and Cancer Institute.

India's Current Medical Device Industry Scenario

Indian medical device industry is dominated by global giants and despite unfavourable domestic regulations, local Indian startups promise to make lifesaving medical technology more accessible in a country where quality and affordable healthcare is scarce, especially in any place that's not a major city.

India's medical devices industry is growing at about 15 per cent annually and is expected to reach at least $25-30 billion (Rs 1.65-1.98 lakh crore) by 2025, according to a report in March by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited startups to focus on research for innovative medical devices and use technology to make healthcare more affordable.

“India should manufacture its own medical devices to bring down the cost. Recently, the government reduced cost of stents by 85 per cent," said Modi while addressing oncologists at Tata Memorial Hospital.

To recall, in March 2017, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has moved a cabinet note and suggestion that the maximum age for classifying a biotechnology or a medical devices firm as a startup be raised to 8-10 years from the current 5 years [Read Here].

In an address to mark 75 years of cancer treatment by Tata Memorial Hospital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said plenty of things pointing to startups working in medical devices, healthcare and health-tech but he seems to be either unaware of the fact that there exists many such medical device startups and health-tech startups in India that are innovative and working towards bringing down the cost of healthcare, or may be PM Modi wants to start everything afresh for startups working in health technology segment.

In medical device startups segment, Bangalore-based PathShodh has made a device that can perform 8 health tests on single platform and for this the startup has been shortlisted by National Health Systems Resources Centre (NHSRC) as a very important and useful device.

An another Bangalore based medical device startup called Museinc has built a ‘Smart Stethoscope’ to make Stethoscopes a common household device. Ten3T is also one such medical wearable device startup trying to help patients with real-time cardiac monitoring.

Zoho Founder Invests In Chennai-based Medical Device Startup vTitan

Sridhar Vembu, founder of one of India's most successful startup Zoho, has announced that he has invested about $10 million in vTitan, a medical device startup based out of Chennai, reported Times of India.

Besides being the main investor Zoho has also developed the user interface and software component for the medical devices of vTitan. Additionally, Zoho is also working with vTitan to develop IoT, AI and machine learning enabled prototypes in the coming months.

Founded in 2010 by Periyakulam Kasthuri, vTitan was working along with Zoho in stealth mode for last eight years. The startup offers medical devices, the first being their patented Accuflow SP-550 and Accuflow IBP-550 syringe infusion pumps for critical care medication administration. The pumps are powered by indigenously developed and patented closed-loop motion control technology.

The Accuflow SP-550 which works on electricity is priced at Rs 35,000 while the Accuflow IBP-550 includes an integrated battery pack for portability and is priced at Rs 45,000. "This is a dream that I saw over 10 years back. It is a blessing for us to fund a startup and entrepreneur who is working towards making this dream come true," said Sridhar Vembu to TOI.

The startup has employed a closed-loop motion control technology in these pumps for which it owns the technology patent in seven countries including North America, China, UK and India. The Company also expects to receive a CE certification for the devices by March. A CE mark on a product indicates that it complies health, safety and environmental protection standards necessary for sale within the European Economic Area.

The start-up has completed trials at Apollo Hospitals, Fortis Malar, Sri Ramachandra and Cancer Institute.

India's Current Medical Device Industry Scenario

Indian medical device industry is dominated by global giants and despite unfavourable domestic regulations, local Indian startups promise to make lifesaving medical technology more accessible in a country where quality and affordable healthcare is scarce, especially in any place that's not a major city.

India's medical devices industry is growing at about 15 per cent annually and is expected to reach at least $25-30 billion (Rs 1.65-1.98 lakh crore) by 2025, according to a report in March by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited startups to focus on research for innovative medical devices and use technology to make healthcare more affordable.

“India should manufacture its own medical devices to bring down the cost. Recently, the government reduced cost of stents by 85 per cent," said Modi while addressing oncologists at Tata Memorial Hospital.

To recall, in March 2017, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has moved a cabinet note and suggestion that the maximum age for classifying a biotechnology or a medical devices firm as a startup be raised to 8-10 years from the current 5 years [Read Here].

In an address to mark 75 years of cancer treatment by Tata Memorial Hospital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said plenty of things pointing to startups working in medical devices, healthcare and health-tech but he seems to be either unaware of the fact that there exists many such medical device startups and health-tech startups in India that are innovative and working towards bringing down the cost of healthcare, or may be PM Modi wants to start everything afresh for startups working in health technology segment.

In medical device startups segment, Bangalore-based PathShodh has made a device that can perform 8 health tests on single platform and for this the startup has been shortlisted by National Health Systems Resources Centre (NHSRC) as a very important and useful device.

An another Bangalore based medical device startup called Museinc has built a ‘Smart Stethoscope’ to make Stethoscopes a common household device. Ten3T is also one such medical wearable device startup trying to help patients with real-time cardiac monitoring.

PM Modi Invites Startup Ideas For Medical Devices, Innovation for Affordable Healthcare

Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited startups to focus on research for innovative medical devices and use technology to make healthcare more affordable.

“India should manufacture its own medical devices to bring down the cost. Recently, the government reduced cost of stents by 85 per cent," said Modi while addressing oncologists at Tata Memorial Hospital.

To recall, in March, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has moved a cabinet note and suggestion that the maximum age for classifying a biotechnology or a medical devices firm as a startup be raised to 8-10 years from the current 5 years [Read Here].

In an address to mark 75 years of cancer treatment by Tata Memorial Hospital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said plenty of things pointing to startups working in medical devices, healthcare and health-tech but he seems to be either unaware of the fact that there exists many such medical device startups and health-tech startups in India that are innovative and working towards bringing down the cost of healthcare, or may be PM Modi wants to start everything afresh for startups working in health technology segment.

In medical device startups segment, Bangalore-based PathShodh has made a device that can perform 8 health tests on single platform and for this the startup has been shortlisted by National Health Systems Resources Centre (NHSRC) as a very important and useful device.

An another Bangalore based medical device startup called Museinc has built a ‘Smart Stethoscope’ to make Stethoscopes a common household device. Ten3T is also one such medical wearable device startup trying to help patients with real-time cardiac monitoring.

SigTuple is an another innovative healthcare technology startup where it has build an intelligent solutions that aid in medical diagnosis using state of the art artificial intelligence and machine learning. The startup has recently raised funding of $5.8 Million from a private VC.

All these startups are funded and backed by private venture capital firms and investors and unfortunately government has less or no role in encouraging or bringing the products or innovation developed by these startups to masses.

So much so, going with call for medical device startup innovation by PM Mod it will be interesting to see what Modi-led government has to offer to these existing startups that are not only innovative but affordable as well.

Soon, We at IndianWeb2 will feature Medical Device Startups based out of India, just in case if PM Modi can select few for his ambitious plans.

Govt To Include 8-10 Years old BioTech, Medical Devices Cos As Startups

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has moved a cabinet note and suggestion that the maximum age for classifying a biotechnology or a medical devices firm as a startup be raised to 8-10 years from the current five years.

The DIPP has suggested these changes to be incorporated under Startup India Action Plan, a Narendra Modi led flagship programme to nurture startups and entrepreneurship in the country.

This suggestion note to increase the age of Biotechnology and Medical Devices companies to consider as startups is made on the very fact that the companies in these two sectors take long development process to mature. To promote biotech firms, the government already offers Rs 1 crore to bio-incubators under the Biotech Equity Fund. A total of 20 bio-incubators have been supported by the department of biotechnology so far. Nearly 350 startups have received benefits from these bio-incubators under programmes such as Biotechnology Ignition Grant, Industry Innovation Programme on Medical Electronics (IIPME), Sparsh, Grand Challenges and BioNEST.

Related Reading - A Glimpse of Indian Bio-Technology Industry And Its Hottest Startups

Notably, in a recent study called "India's Biotech Startup Ecosystem" by Association of Biotechnology Led enterprises (ABLE) revealed that Indian biotech startup ecosystem is booming with 1022 bio-technology startups and it has managed to fetch investments of over $2.8 billion (Rs 18,700 crore) in five years i.e from 2012 to 2016. Bengaluru, with 190 Biotech Startups, is the capital of India's biotechnology industry.

Additionally, in order to ease processes for startups, the DIPP has also written to the corporate affairs ministry to notify startups as ‘fast track’ firms, which will allow them to wind up their business within 90 days. So far, the DIPP has recognized 713 startups out of 1,835 applications it received.

[Top Image - Shutterstock]

Bengaluru Startup Builds A 'Smart Stethoscope' To Make It A Next Household Device

In a last decade, medical devices such as - Digital Thermometer, Glucometer and BP Monitor has become household instrument and unlike time of 80s or 90s where people need to visits doctors and hospitals for routine checkup and diagnoses people now are using these digital devices more often without leaving home. However one such medical instrument -- Stethoscope, is yet to become a household device.

From 1816 to 2016, it has been two centuries since the stethoscope was invented to help the mankind. In its 200 years of survival, from being a simple wooden pipe to what it is now, the device has undergone several changes. And now, a Bengaluru based startup is bringing the stethoscope to everyone's home by inventing a Smart Stethoscope called the Taal.

Invented by a two-year-old startup MUSEinc, the Taal is a low-cost, highly functional digital stethoscope, that aims to improve the quality of diagnosis, and reduce the time that is currently required to measure cardiovascular parameters among many other possible applications. The device consists of a circular hardware device, that is paired with a smartphone app and can function across species from cats to humans.



Even today, a majority of the doctors make a choice between electronic and acoustic stethoscopes. Though Taal isn't the first digital stethoscopes to hit the market, what makes it different from others is the fact that MUSEinc team has inserted a processor that enables automation of the calculation of the heart rate and recording of other sounds from within the body.



Founded in 2014 by Arvind Badrinarayanan and Sumukh Mysore, MUSEinc is a medical device startup aims to produce advanced, affordable and customizable devices for a variety of needs.

The startup is in the final stages of development and testing of the Taal digital stethoscope which the startup claims to be the most affordable and effective device of its kind in the world.

The startup has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for Taal to raise USD 50,000 and till writing this article it has raised $4,625 USD from 65 backers.

Designed to be used by both medical professionals and patients, the device gives its users graphical representation of heart waves on the mobile, and allows them to send it to doctors. This means, a patient wouldn't require any additional training in order to understand what he/she is hearing from the stethoscope's earplugs.

Taal hasn't only become a hit in its home country India, but has also found takers abroad. According to the startup, a couple of doctors in the US are already using the device.

Taal can be of great help to doctors in remote areas for getting a second opinion, or come to a better diagnosis with help from hospitals in bigger cities.

Locally made in Bengaluru, Taal's innovators for now wish to keep the technology in the open source. The device even comes with a long, rechargeable battery life of up to 24 hours.

Here are some of other features that makes Taal stand out.

• Compact Size- Taal says goodbye to the decades old rubber tubes that are a major inconvenience for doctors when carrying about a workplace or travelling. It's compact design and lightweight makes it convenient enough to even fit into a pocket.




• OLED Display- Taal comes with an alphanumeric OLED display screen that displays a real-time digital sample of the heart rate. It even shows Taal's battery status.



• Flexibility of Use- The Taal, with its POGO charging port and Lithium Ion batteries can be used and charged anywhere.




• Audio Filtering- Taal comes with a noise cancelling analog circuit that works towards removing S1 (first heart sound) and S2 sounds from ambient noise, in order to make heartbeats and other internal sounds clearly audible to the users.




• Socially enabled: The Taal even allows its users to record and share sounds with others with the Taal mobile app, or download and email it.

Apart from MuseInc, Cooey is another Bengaluru-based medical device startup that had launched 'smart' medical device and its - a Smart Glucometer -- a small, pocket-sized device that is portable, connects to a smartphone using the 3.5mm headphone jack and transfers the readings automatically into its mobile app.

Bengaluru Startup Builds A 'Smart Stethoscope' To Make It A Next Household Device

In a last decade, medical devices such as - Digital Thermometer, Glucometer and BP Monitor has become household instrument and unlike time of 80s or 90s where people need to visits doctors and hospitals for routine checkup and diagnoses people now are using these digital devices more often without leaving home. However one such medical instrument -- Stethoscope, is yet to become a household device.

From 1816 to 2016, it has been two centuries since the stethoscope was invented to help the mankind. In its 200 years of survival, from being a simple wooden pipe to what it is now, the device has undergone several changes. And now, a Bengaluru based startup is bringing the stethoscope to everyone's home by inventing a Smart Stethoscope called the Taal.

Invented by a two-year-old startup MUSEinc, the Taal is a low-cost, highly functional digital stethoscope, that aims to improve the quality of diagnosis, and reduce the time that is currently required to measure cardiovascular parameters among many other possible applications. The device consists of a circular hardware device, that is paired with a smartphone app and can function across species from cats to humans.



Even today, a majority of the doctors make a choice between electronic and acoustic stethoscopes. Though Taal isn't the first digital stethoscopes to hit the market, what makes it different from others is the fact that MUSEinc team has inserted a processor that enables automation of the calculation of the heart rate and recording of other sounds from within the body.



Founded in 2014 by Arvind Badrinarayanan and Sumukh Mysore, MUSEinc is a medical device startup aims to produce advanced, affordable and customizable devices for a variety of needs.

The startup is in the final stages of development and testing of the Taal digital stethoscope which the startup claims to be the most affordable and effective device of its kind in the world.

The startup has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for Taal to raise USD 50,000 and till writing this article it has raised $4,625 USD from 65 backers.

Designed to be used by both medical professionals and patients, the device gives its users graphical representation of heart waves on the mobile, and allows them to send it to doctors. This means, a patient wouldn't require any additional training in order to understand what he/she is hearing from the stethoscope's earplugs.

Taal hasn't only become a hit in its home country India, but has also found takers abroad. According to the startup, a couple of doctors in the US are already using the device.

Taal can be of great help to doctors in remote areas for getting a second opinion, or come to a better diagnosis with help from hospitals in bigger cities.

Locally made in Bengaluru, Taal's innovators for now wish to keep the technology in the open source. The device even comes with a long, rechargeable battery life of up to 24 hours.

Here are some of other features that makes Taal stand out.

• Compact Size- Taal says goodbye to the decades old rubber tubes that are a major inconvenience for doctors when carrying about a workplace or travelling. It's compact design and lightweight makes it convenient enough to even fit into a pocket.




• OLED Display- Taal comes with an alphanumeric OLED display screen that displays a real-time digital sample of the heart rate. It even shows Taal's battery status.



• Flexibility of Use- The Taal, with its POGO charging port and Lithium Ion batteries can be used and charged anywhere.




• Audio Filtering- Taal comes with a noise cancelling analog circuit that works towards removing S1 (first heart sound) and S2 sounds from ambient noise, in order to make heartbeats and other internal sounds clearly audible to the users.




• Socially enabled: The Taal even allows its users to record and share sounds with others with the Taal mobile app, or download and email it.

Apart from MuseInc, Cooey is another Bengaluru-based medical device startup that had launched 'smart' medical device and its - a Smart Glucometer -- a small, pocket-sized device that is portable, connects to a smartphone using the 3.5mm headphone jack and transfers the readings automatically into its mobile app.