Keeping people healthy at home by providing hospital grade digital continuous care with AI capabilities.
Thanks for tuning in to the Outcomes Rocket podcast where we chat with today’s most successful and inspiring health leaders. I want to personally invite you to our first inaugural Healthcare Thinkathon. It’s a conference that the Outcomes Rocket and the IU Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Sciences has teamed up on. We’re going to put together silo crushing practices just like we do here on the podcast except it’s going to be live with inspiring keynotes and panelists. To set the tone, we’re conducting a meeting where you can be part of drafting the blueprint for the future of healthcare. That’s right. You could be a founding member of this group of talented industry and practitioner leaders. Join me and 200 other inspiring health leaders for the first Inaugural Healthcare Thinkathon. It’s an event that you’re not going to want to miss. And since there’s only 200 tickets available you’re going to want to act soon. So how do you learn more? Just go to outcomesrocket.health/conference. For more details on how to attend that’s outcomesrocket.health/conference and you’ll be able to get all the info that you need on this amazing healthcare thinkathon. That’s outcomesrocket.health/conference.
: Welcome back once again to the Outcomes Rocket podcast where we chat with today’s most successful and inspiring healthcare leaders. I really want to thank you for tuning in again and I welcome you to go to outcomesrocket.health/reviews where you could rate and review today’s program because we have an amazing guest for you today. His name is Leon Eisen and he’s a Ph.D. inventor, entrepreneur and contributor to healthcare. He is most recently well known for the formation of Oxitone Medical where they invented the world’s first FDA cleared risk sensor blood oxygen monitor without a bulky fingertip probe to meet the basic health care needs. Keeping people healthy or at home by providing hospital grade digital continuous care with AI capabilities. We’re going to be diving into some of the things that went into that and the thought processes of how this could improve health care are a little bit later. But what I wanted to do is offer Leon the opportunity to fill in any of the gaps of the introduction. He is coming to us recording from Israel so a big thanks for jumping on with the time difference Leon. Welcome to the podcast and tell us a little bit more that you want the guests to know about you.
: Thank you much. I think you’ll said a lot about me even more that I could say about myself.
: It’s a pleasure. It’s a pleasure Leon. There’s no doubt you’ve done a lot in technology and also in medicine and I love to get a better understanding of what got you into medicine to begin with.
: Oh it’s interesting. After I graduated from PHD, I went to post doctorate research one of my friends just asked me to help with optical design of new redesigned sensor.
: Yes.
: Device. And today this device is in the market by the way it’s the only device on the market to measure hemoglobin. And I said okay, I can help you. So this way I get involved into a very interesting, very promising and very important for all of us healthcare business, technological business, technology business. So I was so much excited about doing and the building medical devices so I left my post doctorate research and joined this company. So I joined another company and another company like executive then my father just go out on the street being free hours discharge from the hospital.
: My goodness.
: I called our physician and ask him, so what happened? Why?
: Yeah.
: He said I don’t know. I saw him three hours ago. He was great. I don’t have any capabilities to check what happens in real time. So it will sound someone came it took 15 minutes to make some trash to measure all this stuff. Thank God, my father was still alive. But this was my humbling. So I have all capabilities, all knowledge even technology in my hands which I can use to monitor patient continuously did what happened before. Why can we monitor oil, engine, but why we cannot monitor continuously human being?
: Totally agree. That’s a great point.
: So we decided to do something that’s impossible. We decided to move graph, decided to start up oxygen sensors from fingertips to the reef. So this way it becomes very comfortable. It allows us to measure 24/7 and just we left the state we have about 2 middle patients under continues oxygen administration. That’s really where fingertip device is 24/7 impossible to look to their fingers how they look like. So we decided to solve this problem before. So we are first on the market. Many, many companies just entered into this area. They decided to like Wombles for example failed to measure what pressure, glucose has always maintained patents to allow nothing except it. Will that work for us wireless sensors for oxygen monitoring, FDA cleared and by the way you take Apple with all noise around apple health care. There are no medical devices. You know oxitone is a world first FDA cleared medical device which measure pulse, rate, or medical grade.
: And when did you guys get your FDA approval Leon?
: But with did very complicated clinical trials in Colorado only two sites in the United States where you can make this iteration tests. Here are can come comparative test invasi oximeters.
: Yes.
: Like my Seema like any medical like all other devices today fingertip devices.
: Yes.
: The unit is just trial deals they didn’t believe because they said many companies came to us, it doesn’t work. We succeeded they checked it many times. And finally they said OK, it works. This is where technology, so this is literally technology without more than 5 portals ground paternalistic knowledge world wide and we’re using very unique ways, unique configuration of sensors that nobody could repeat it.
: Congratulations on the approval. When did it happen.
: Exactly a year ago. By the way today I have my birthday.
: Today is your birthday?
: Yep.
: Happy birthday.
: Thank you very much. Exactly at my birthday a year ago. We got FDA clearance.
: Did you really? Talk about an amazing birthday gift. That’s amazing. That is amazing. So big congratulations to you Leon. It’s not easy to get approval especially on a device that others have tried to develop and have failed and so a year ago you got approval. What are you guys planning to do now?
: We’ve planned this year on developing sales infrastructure. Because it’s not just sale like other devices for atmospheric measurements. It requires some technical support. It requires continuous connection to the healthcare environment. We’ve developed finalized with portal patient or the patient application because I can’t even tell you that some companies they are not ready to take wire to catch up this. It’s such such a huge stream of data. They are all dedicated to omcethey are once we mainstream and by the way all these measurements you post when they feel that, they get measurement. In our case will whole digital continuous care. While the US entry into the digital continuous care. And what is the difference? The difference that each should have continuous care yoi have produce.
: Yes.
: A lot of evidence base. So if you a once a day once a week, you cannot predict anything but it does have some impact on vital signs. And by the way we measure what oxygen saturation holds the rate activities, temperature, pulse rate variability so it’s against stress. So we have the department continues potom of data. So if something changes, it’s a blueprint or a patient like they may. And this is will be catch up in time.
: It’s definitely exciting. And so you’re putting together the infrastructure you’re putting together the platforms for for patient portals connectivity to help others do the digital continuous monitoring and definitely exciting for this technology to come forth. For you, Leon what would you say the future looks like? Let’s call it five years from now. Where is this technology being used? How is it being implemented and who cares about it?
: Very very difficult question because this creation belongs to resistance of the current medical system to new development of design and I think in any it’s importance for high risk patients.
: Yes
: So the main important use case is the high risk patients recently discharged from the hospital. All we talk about hospital at home. So patient in stable going to the hospital to be admitted after the emergency room visits. They could be sent back home with the same level of hospital grade monitoring like they would have in the hospital. So I think at least acknowledge it. And by the way there are other companies like wide to come that they also they provide the digital continuous care or heg from that patch. Maybe she’s not so comfortable like a small wrist watch made case it was. So there is some cohort of companies we should just write to all the right who the market with their medical system to accept our technology. Digital continuous not only monitoring because it’s a digital continuous care. This is the hospital great care at home. So I see them move using these technology. We can move hospital care and monitoring to the home so we can remove or reviews hospital stay very dramatically because instead of whether we have to spend two days in the hospital just for measurements of vital signs I can pull up that they take off my small fingers to monitor. Everybody knows what to do and take oxitone, go home and continue the same level of care of monitoring. So we have three main changes that will happen and our technology will intensifie just readmission reduction, very low readmission and very low, very efficient readmission because all readmissions reduction to date has been very high new workload it’s very high, very costly. In our case, everything happen automatically. So you have automated continuous door at the same time. You don’t have to call every day to check the patient, to care to go to the patient every day, to ask what happened. Everything goes automatically up while you’re waiting for that a lot. And a lot of cell will be before something happens. The other emergency room to hold. And then our water or another change it will be a real reduction. Will the hospital stay.
: Well there’s no doubt this technology will be providing a lot of benefits to patients to health systems potentially a big way to reduce costs. Right getting patients home faster and it’s pretty exciting. Now maybe something that I’d love to hear from you Leon as the listeners also are working to bring forth their innovations. What would you share of a setback that you had in the long process to get this technology finally approved? Can you share a setback or a failure that you experienced and what you learned from that?
: Well you do something new. You go through a hole pitfalls you can find it. So.
: Yes a lot of pitfalls.
: Doesn’t allow the easy way, you know so if you have some pitfalls you will get in. So yes it is the real problem. Somebody said if it doesn’t kill us, it make us stronger. So really we investigated each mistake. It was a mechanical mistake it was technical, it was optical, so everywhere. So we made a very small step then stepped back, step fast, step back. So we systemised all these mistakes, we build working system, working system I would say and this allows today to anticipate some mistakes and to avoid it.
: Fascinating. And so there’s no doubt Leon, you’re a patient man.
: Not sure.
: You’re a patient man with the vision. Right. And so folks if you’re listening to this you know it wasn’t an easy road for Leon to get to where he is now with him and his team finally having an FDA approved product and building systems to actually commercialize and distribute this product. It’s Pptients. It’s a vision. But to Leon’s point it’s also building the systems that are going to help you avoid the failures and the setbacks that you had to begin with. And so Leon really appreciate that share. What would you say today is your proudest medical leadership experiences that you’ve had?
: I think I can just separate leadership, medical or executive or I don’t know. So just have to move. We have to move all the time. We can’t just watch what happens. Dawn Oh I do not have to move all the time and the leadership experience that once I stop, I lost a lot. Never stop it doesn’t matter do we have money, do have customers. If you believe in what you’re doing all of the world will follow you.
: I love it. And this is such a great message. Leon I last week I had a chance to be at the Beckers healthcare meeting where I was able to hear both President Clinton and also President George W. Bush speak and they shared the same message and that message was stand for something, believe in something and stand for it and do something. So coming from two past presidents and also Dr. Leon Eisen I think it’s piece of advice worth following. Listeners stand for something and do something and the world will follow you. Yeah very great share Leon. Very Great share. Tell us a little bit more about an exciting project within what you’re doing now that you’re so excited about and you want to tell the listeners.
: This is still the same project to have to improve our device. And the more vital signs with and more capabilities and the most important we’re going to launch sales this summer. Official sales.
: Awesome
: Even from our website we have a long list of preorders. just from patients, from physicians, from institutes, universities and companies. And so our project today is to launch sale…
: So being that it’s an FDA cleared device. Do you need a prescription to have it or can patients buy it directly. How does that work?
: Because you have 5000 K we need a prescription.
: So you do need a prescription, nevertheless it’s available. Once you have that prescription patients could buy it for themselves.
: They could buy for themselves or insurance companies to provide, hospitals who provide them who tried different business models. Because again you don’t have very well established business model yet though. So why. Because for example any proximeter is not induced by Medicaid or Medicare. It was reduced because while you do more so so be the whole use all at once a week measurements will pay for that. In our case another challenge would have to show that there is the real Weidensaul, we bring medical device or medical device in different level and we have to the reason why in this device and we have to get in there. And this is another project we are just getting started working on.
: Excellent. Well we definitely wish you the best on this on this project. I mean you’ve been persistent even passionate and you’ve been consistent in your approach and I have no doubt you’re going to succeed at this Leon. Now let’s pretend you and I are building a leadership course on how to be successful in health care leadership. It’s the 101 of the Dr. Leon Eisen. So we’ve got a syllabus. We’re going to put it together four questions that are fast, lightning round questions followed by your favorite book that you recommend to the listeners. You ready.
: Yup.
: Alright. What’s the best way to improve health care outcomes?
: To get patients involved.
: What’s the biggest mistake or pitfall to avoid?
: To accept industry resistance as no.
: How do you stay relevant as an organization despite the change?
: The whole world is changing.
: And finally what’s one area of focus that should drive everything in a health organization?
: In our organization it’s device.
: What book would you recommend to the listeners, Leon?
: I recommend Art of War by Sun Tzu. This book, I read every once a year. I read it again and again. I don’t know, like bible. And every time it gives me inspiration and understanding how to fight.
: That’s wonderful. The Art of War and listeners. Don’t worry about writing any of this down. You could find the show notes as well as links to all the things that we’ve talked about including links to Leon’s company Oxitone medical as well as the link to the book that he just recommended and a full transcript of our conversation. Just go to outcomesrocket.health/oxitone. You’re going to be able to find all that there. Leon this has been a lot of fun. Really excited for the innovative approaches that you guys are taking. If you can just share a closing thought with the listeners and then the best place where they could get in touch with you to learn more.
: Here’s to follow. I very much appreciate our listeners for their time. So thank you very much. And what I suggest first of all, move all the time. Do not stop, if you have an idea, you have to start to elaborate this idea. I called business you around this idea so I’m open to any questions if you have something – starting from zero. Do something personal. I’m here for you.
: Outstanding and Leon, really appreciate you spending time with us and looking forward to seeing your success and you to add value to the health system with this innovative technology. Thank you very much.
Thanks for tuning in to the outcomes rocket podcast if you want the show notes, inspiration, transcripts and everything that we talked about on this episode. Just go to outcomesrocket.health. And again don’t forget to check out the amazing healthcare Thinkathon where we can get together took form the blueprint for the future of healthcare. You can find more information on that and how to get involved in our theme which is “implementation is innovation”. Just go to outcomesrocket.health/conference that’s outcomesrocket.health/conference. Be one of the 200 that will participate. Looking forward to seeing you there.
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