It is hard to believe that 4 years have flown by since we launched Cardio-Jenic Pty Ltd, in August 2016. Cardio-Jenic was created to fill the void in innovation in diagnostic cardiology. Since our launch and informed by our motto “innovation…not iteration in cardiology”, we have searched the world to find innovative solutions that are underpinned by three key questions: is it truly innovative?; does it actually solve a problem?; does it provide more clinical data than current solutions?
It’s been quite the ride and we’ve built the business logically and methodically with a view to long-term sustainability, and year 4 showed a 228% grow with sales into every Australian state and New Zealand, which suggests we’re doing the right things for our customers.
Applying our key questions, we noted that most clinical cardiology departments have clunky, piecemeal solutions; Holter’s from one company, resting ECGs from another and often stress from a different supplier, Ambulatory BP Monitor’s from another source, all with different software that don’t interface with each other. Surely efficiencies in hospitals and clinics should be all about seamless integration, safe and fast workflows as well as user-optimised solutions. To address these requirements, we partnered with German company custo med GmbH to introduce a single source cardiopulmonary diagnostic software solution the”custo diagnostic clinical” that allows for flawless daily work, modularity and flexibity. Imagine getting your service, hardware, and software from only one single source while having access to the vast expertise of Cardio-Jenic and custo med.
The custo diagnostic platform is supported by sexy devices such as the custo watch with AF diagnostics for Holters, and the lightweight custo cardio 300, a versatile, portable Bluetooth 12-channel resting/stress ECG with superior 32 kHz sampling rate. Cardio-Jenic invested in research to support PhD candidate, Dr Kam Wong from Westmead Applied Research Centre, who demonstrated the advanced potential of the custo cardio 300 Bluetooth ECG in the community. His poster presentation will feature at the 2020 CSANZ meeting.
We imagined a low-cost, simple community screening solution enabling detection of cardiac dysfunction, and partnered with HeartSciences from Texas to launch MyoVista® Wavelet ECG (wavECGTM) a new resting 12-lead ECG utilising continuous wavelet transform (CWT) based signal processing. MyoVista wavECG technology is designed to improve the sensitivity of an ECG in detecting ischemic and structural heart disease at an early stage.
Cardio-Jenic has also supported research using MyoVista® wavECG at Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute, showcased at the American College of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology that demonstrated “Using Machine Learning algorithms, sensitivity of ewECG is suitable for application as a screening test for Stage B Heart Failure in apparent Stage A Heart Failure. Our data suggest ewECG could reduce the number of echocardiograms performed as part of a HF population screening program by 18‐25%.”
We are also supporting research at Curtin and Monash Universities, and we are excited to be launching a new trial with MyoVista® wavECG at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital in the Cardiac Investigations Unit.
We are grateful for the support of Prof. Tom Marwick in referring Cardio-Jenic to a true innovator in echocardiography, John Freeland. In 2019 we launched the browser/cloud-based PACS cPAC from Freeland Systems providing anywhere/anytime echo image review, intelligent structured reporting, and archiving solutions.
Cardio-Jenic also introduced into Australia the cuffless SOMNOtouch™ NIBP from another German innovation company SOMNOmedics GmbH. Many clinicians in Australia are enjoying the advantages of the additional diagnostics provided by the SOMNOtouch™ NIBP, Holter data, ESH validated 24-hour beat-to-beat blood pressure measurements, SpO2 and positional data.
Coronary heart disease remains the leading underlying cause of death in Australia and cardiology has only just started embracing the potential of AI, which is why Cardio-Jenic continues the international search for diagnostics solutions, including ongoing discussions with innovation companies in the USA, Ireland, Poland and Malaysia. We are also partnering with Australian development and commercialisation companies to seek new platforms to improve healthcare outcomes for regional and remote communities.
Cardio-Jenic continues to invest in research, and aside from those projects already mentioned, we provided matching seed funding in collaboration with Sydney University for research at Westmead. It was also a highlight to be invited to be a co-investigator on a significant NH&MRC grant application. Should this grant be approved the impact on improving cardiology excellence will leave a generational legacy.
Further highlights included our Manager Director, Carolyn Jensen, being named a finalist in the 2020 Telstra Business Women’s Awards.
Cardio-Jenic also retains an awareness of its commitment to our community, and have made philanthropic donations to Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute, TRACTION for Young People, a charity providing unique solutions for youth at risk, and Ipswich Grammar School for investment in STEM.
Of course, year 5 will be challenging in different ways as we find ourselves facing a unique, pandemic influenced economy with significant travels restrictions both in Australia and internationally. Cardio-Jenic was already ahead of the curve by having implemented IT solutions to service our customers remotely, and we have now launched our virtual solutions to be able to demo and trial our products anywhere throughout Australia. The way of doing business must adapt in this COVID world, and we are grateful for the grant support of the Queensland government to ensure our COVID-safe plan allows us to provide ongoing service for our regional and remote customers.
We have achieved so much in our first 4 years, and we remain grateful for the support and advice from our international partners, as well as from key-opinion-leaders including Prof. Marwick, Prof. Clara Chow, Assoc. Prof. Sudhir Wahi, Assoc. Prof. Gerald Kaye, and Adjunct Prof. Adam Scott. Your wisdom is most appreciated.
Finally, we would like to thank our customers who have joined Cardio-Jenic in providing solutions for better health outcomes for their patients, through innovation… not iteration in cardiology. Here’s to the next 4 years together…