Sensemodi (previously Inmodi) is developing a wearable smart platform to assess joint health in motion to optimize patient-specific treatment plans and improve treatment outcomes. The Smart Brace, the smart technology developed by Sensemodi, is intended to be simple to use, non-invasive, and provides reliable and quantifiable digital knee biomarkers. In less than 10 minutes, parameters from acoustic, thermal and kinematic modalities are extracted and aggregated using artificial intelligence to generate a knee health score. This method allows the collection of a multitude of multi-sensor data to assess knee function and detect certain joint pathologies, such as osteoarthritis, earlier.
Osteoarthritis, an irreversible breakdown of cartilage, is one of the main targets, as it is one of the most important causes of chronic pain and disability in the knee worldwide. The disease is usually diagnosed late and is not yet curable. The increase in obesity, the increase in sedentary behavior and the aging of the population contribute to the development of the disease. Indeed, the number of patients requiring knee replacement surgery to treat pain and avoid disability has increased dramatically in recent years. The mission of the start-up is to prevent disability, improve quality of life and reduce the socio-economic burden caused by musculoskeletal disorders.
Sensemodi, winner of the final phase of VentureKick
The spin-off recently won the final round of VentureKick. Venture Kick is a three-stage philanthropic funding model, initiated to support Swiss startups with sufficient funds to launch their entrepreneurial success. Sensemodi has been awarded CHF 150,000 to assess joint health through an innovative technology. The Lausanne-based start-up aims to achieve a minimum viable product and validate its use in clinical practice in collaboration with renowned orthopedic clinics such as the Schulthess Klinik in Zurich. The Venture Kick funding will allow the startup to develop a quality management system and certification strategy to take a crucial step towards market entry. “The Venture Kick funding has been an incredible boost to our goals. Our solution has evolved at a rapid pace, thanks to the support of the network and the increased credibility associated with the program, which has opened many doors for us,” said Dr. Jerome Thevenot, CEO of Sensemodi.
Sensemodi, laureate of the cross-border program Accelere’Health
Accelere’Health is a unique cross-border program that aims to promote innovative healthcare projects. Thanks to intensive exchanges with key players in the various healthcare innovation ecosystems in Switzerland and France, these projects will be able to develop by combining skills and expertise around their solutions.
Selected during the second expedition of the program, Sensemodi went to discover the ecosystem of Besançon. The start-up had the opportunity to identify market opportunities, to boost its development by benefiting from the best expertise of this innovation ecosystem and to discover a dynamic competitiveness cluster focused on medical devices and innovative therapies. This immersion was a great opportunity for the start-up to meet actors of the Besançon medical ecosystem and to approach potential customers and other partners in the hospital sector.
“I found this expedition very enriching because it allowed me to discover the Besançon ecosystem and specially to obtain contacts that I would not have had. As a start-up, I would never have had the time to organize this kind of meeting myself, which requires time to plan and especially a local network. I also had the opportunity to meet actors of the clinical trials/regulations world and local start-ups in the same field as our activities. The exchanges with the startups were very positive and I think we will be able to do clinical studies in partnership”, confided Dr Jérôme Thevenot.
During this immersion, the spin-off was able to benefit from the experience of the other start-ups that made the trip with it. Indeed, Dr Thevenot says that it was very interesting to discuss with the other start-ups, especially those who also have a hardware part and the same specific needs as Sensemodi in terms of certification. Moreover, the CEO of the start-up could notice some differences between Switzerland and France. Indeed, he notes that the reimbursement system and the access to advanced imaging modalities are different between the two countries.
“I would recommend the program specially to start-ups that need to do clinical trials and get reimbursement codes because I think France is more representative of the European model than Switzerland,” concludes the Sensemodi representative.