Advances in automation continue to transform healthcare. From reducing paperwork for clinicians to speeding up diagnosis processes, medtech innovations are improving patient outcomes and staff morale. But even with advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics, there are still some processes that are done the same way as 50 or even 100 years ago.

It was one of these outdated processes that inspired Jayiesh Singh to trade in being a robotics consultant for becoming a medtech founder. Singh is the co-founder and CEO of Able Innovations, a Toronto-based medtech robotics startup that is changing the way patients are transported inside hospitals.

“So the act of moving patients in hospitals is highly manual and has been done the same way for over 80 years. The first patent for a patient crane is the same patent for the crane that lifts an engine out of a car. That’s how archaic the tech is,” Singh said.

It may not be a flashy problem, but it is one that is relevant to medical staff—including Singh’s mother.

Inspired by a family member’s experience

Singh has had a passion for developing technology for good since he began his career in renewable energy. He worked in the sector for eight years and said the lessons learned during that time inspired him to start a consultancy to help other robotics founders avoid some of the mistakes he had made.

Those experiences taught Singh a lot about startups, but it was a conversation with his mother that inspired Singh to tackle the problems of patient transfer.

“My mom works in healthcare and she has experienced chronic workforce-related injuries, with many from moving patients. As she’s getting older, that problem is only getting worse for her,” he said.

Singh started looking into the challenges of patient transfer and realized it was a problem that was only going to get worse in the coming years due to the increasingly aging population and the rising acuity of the average patient. 

“There was nothing being done about it and it’s a really relevant problem for our frontline staff who are increasingly burnt out mentally and physically. That’s when I started looking at how I can utilize robotics to help solve this problem,” he said.

Advancing lateral patient transfers

Able Innovations has developed the ALTA platform®, a semi-automated device that can transfer a patient from their beds and  transport them with no human physical effort. To bring his vision to reality, Singh brought on co-founder and CTO Philip Chang. 

“Philip has a strong background in intellectual property (IP) and we saw that no one is looking into the space,” Singh said. “There were companies looking at transport and some at beds, but this is a new category where you are transferring and transporting.”

The ALTA platform can semi-autonomously transfer a patient from their bed to itself under the supervision of a single nurse. ALTA can then transport the patient for imaging or surgery or simply lift the patient so their bedding can be quickly changed. It’s a dignified process for the patient and the nursing staff.

While innovations in procedural interventions like the diagnosis, treatment,  and management of medical conditions are plentiful, Singh said nursing-led innovations are few and far between. But as the population ages, he said the need for a solution to protect nurses has never been greater.

Traditional robotics technology may work great on factory floors, but hospitals have a complex set of needs that don’t support how hospitals and nurses work.

“Nurses have no patience to take extra time to do something. It’s got to work quickly. Even if it’s going to save their back, they have to help the patient. So the challenge for us was whether we could use robotics to reduce the number of steps and save them time,” Singh said.

Redefining work

For Singh, the ALTA platform is an example of how AI and robotics can protect nurses and reduce inefficiencies across almost every department in a hospital. The platform was recently launched at Beth Israel Lahey Health in Massachusetts and was serendipitously timed with a visit from the state’s Under Secretary of Labour.

“His visit was tied to the theme of how physical AI can redefine and upscale professions,” Singh said. “They used our platform as an example where this technology is allowing nurses to function at the top of their profession.”

Automating patient transport can also provide more opportunities for part-time and low-wage hospital employees who typically do that task.

“Robotics frees these employees up to do a higher value task. It’s moving them up the value chain. It’s moving nurses up the value chain. It’s a win for both,” Singh added.

Delivering equity to hospital services

Able Innovations has installed ALTA platforms in six healthcare systems across North America. Singh said the team does as much research on potential clients as clients do on Able Innovations.

“Not every hospital has the ability or capability to integrate something like ALTA. What we’ve been finding are visionary hospitals that want to redefine how healthcare is delivered,” he said.

Hospital size or location do not play a role in deciding if a facility makes a good candidate for ALTA.

“Whether it’s a 300 bed acute care hospital or a regional hospital servicing a really broad geography, they all have the same challenges of an older, sicker population paired with staff shortages,” he said.

One example is a regional hospital an hour and half outside Vancouver, BC.

“The facility was battling chronic staff shortages which forced it to temporarily shut down its ER. It wasn’t  a profile that typically fits the mold for us. It’s an institution that’s not necessarily focused on innovation. It’s a community hospital saying we need this because we don’t have staff,” Singh said. “Now we have so many community hospitals calling us to see if they can get ALTA.”

Connecting with MIX for growth

Able Innovations is a MIX affiliate member and Singh said being part of the community helps it advance its mission.

“MIX has been really beneficial for us because it brings together similar minded, similarly staged medtech companies who share the same ambition and challenges,” he said.

One of Singh’s favourite parts about MIX are the doors it has opened.

“One of the greatest values we’ve gotten is through the facilitation of introduction with subject matter experts,” he said. “We definitely saw a marked improvement in our regulatory strategy through resources made available to us thanks to the subject matter experts and their advice.”

As Singh mentioned earlier, Able Innovations is focused on impactful launches. He added that they plan on expanding to seven or eight health systems over the next year. 

“All of these systems will try a few of our devices, but patients are moved across various departments. The opportunity for solving this problem throughout that facility and system is immense,” he said.

With several successful implementations already underway, Singh looks forward to a future where all healthcare professionals can perform their jobs with dignity.“Our thesis has broadened and we want to automate labor intensive tasks for frontline staff so that they can focus on compassionate care,” he said.