Latest / StartUp Health NOW Podcast / Everyplace Labs Validates Self-Service Diagnostic Testing Kiosk

Transcript

Everyplace Labs Validates Self-Service Diagnostic Testing Kiosk · StartUp Health NOW Podcast

• 0:00
  [ on-hold music] Our solution, um, it's a kiosk that's deployed at essential work sites like manufacturing plants and warehouses, and it automates the point of care testing process and, uh, the processes that surround on-site testing operations.
• 0:21
  So it's a very turnkey solution that's, uh, hands-off for the employer. So the a-- uh, the human resource managers and leaders, they don't need to, uh, operate, uh, the testing site daily through our solution.
• 0:37
  [on-hold music] Welcome to Startup Health Now, the podcast about the entrepreneurs and innovators reimagining the future of health. I'm your host, Logan Plaster.
• 0:45
  Here are a couple things we learned as a society from the COVID-19 pandemic. One is that knowledge is power, and a quick diagnostic test can help us understand our risk of spreading a virus to others.
• 0:57
  We also learned that testing technology means nothing if it's not accessible.
• 1:02
  If you have to schedule an appointment to get tested three days after you feel symptoms, and then you have to wait another three or four days for the results, the whole system grinds to a halt.
• 1:11
  Accurate tests aren't enough. We also have to get them into the right hands at the right time. That's where our guests today come in.
• 1:19
  Michael Tu and Claire Xu are the co-founders of Everyplace Labs, which Startup Health backed in twenty twenty-one.
• 1:26
  As the name cleverly suggests, Everyplace Labs is designing a way to make diagnostic testing, whether for COVID or flu or anything else, available just about anywhere.
• 1:36
  They've built a kiosk, essentially a diagnostic testing vending machine, that can walk a patient through the administration of a test and then process the results right there in the machine.
• 1:47
  The product, really a first of its kind, is being piloted at large manufacturers, where workers can often have a hard time accessing healthcare resources.
• 1:56
  But it really has implications for any community lacking access to basic diagnostic testing.
• 2:03
  In our conversation, we'll get into their recent pilot, learn how the machine works, and hear what comes next for their broader commercialization efforts. Stick around.
• 2:12
  [on-hold music] Michael, Claire, thanks for taking time with me today and, uh, filling me in on Everyplace Labs. Oh, thanks for having us.
• 2:29
  So, um, you've created something that I think is really unique, and that's saying something in a health innovation field. Uh, you know, twenty thousand companies in America alone, uh, healthcare startups.
• 2:42
  I'm, I'm sure that number is fuzzy, but a lot. There's a lot of startups out there. Mm-hmm. I've met a lot of them, and I h-- before I met Everyplace Labs, I hadn't really seen anything like what you were building.
• 2:52
  Uh- Thank you. And so that's really exciting. So why don't you go ahead and tell us what is Everyplace Labs? What is it you've built? Mm-hmm.
• 3:00
  So at Everyplace Labs, we're developing a self-service kiosk for diagnostic testing at essential work sites.
• 3:07
  Uh, so our, our solution, um, it's a kiosk that's deployed at essential work sites like manufacturing plants and warehouses, and it automates the point of care testing process and, uh, the processes that surround on-site testing operations.
• 3:22
  So it's a very turnkey solution that's, uh, hands-off for the employer. So the a-- uh, the human resource managers and leaders, they don't need to, uh, operate, uh, the testing site daily through our solution.
• 3:34
  And then for the employees, we found that, uh, essential workers, uh, like manufacturing plant workers, they often work very rigorous work schedules.
• 3:42
  Um, manufacturing workers, they often work twelve-hour shifts with only two twenty-minute breaks and a thirty-minute break in between.
• 3:48
  Because of this, they don't have enough time, uh, to leave the work site to get tested when they need testing. And after work, they have very limited personal time left over to seek healthcare.
• 3:57
  And so what we learned is, uh, by deploying our system at the work site, we enable, uh, these employees to be tested, uh, in a very convenient way that minimizes, uh, how much, uh, any inter-- i-it minimizes interference with their personal time.
• 4:12
  Got it. Okay. So like a, a vending machine for medical testing.
• 4:16
  C-Claire, what kind of tests-- Obviously this is a really, uh, important issue right now with people thinking about COVID testing, but I know it's more than that.
• 4:24
  So what kind of tests are we talking about being available? Sure. So you're absolutely right. COVID is top of mind for a lot of employers.
• 4:32
  So, um, one of our first tests is going to be a COVID test for contact tracing and r-return to work testing in workplaces, uh, which is particularly important, especially as employers face a tight labor market, um, and absenteeism due to COVID.
• 4:47
  Uh, beyond that, the platform can be expanded to a really wide range of tests that are commonly used at work sites.
• 4:52
  So, um, one of those tests would be substance abuse testing for both pre-employment, um, post-accident, as well as random drug screenings. Um, and we also intend to provide,
• 5:04
  uh, chronic disease testing through the platform as well. So that annual biometric checkup that you get at work, um, that's something that you can get through our kiosk as well. Okay.
• 5:14
  Walk me through, Michael, a, a typical user experience. So, um, let's just take w- is a-- would a flu test be a possibility? Mm-hmm.
• 5:24
  So let's say I'm working at a manufacturing plant, like you said, long hours, tough conditions, and I'm feeling flu-like symptoms on the job. Mm-hmm.
• 5:34
  Let's say that this, this facility has Everyplace Labs, this kiosk vending machine sort of situation. Mm-hmm. Walk me through the, the person's experience. Mm-hmm. Definitely. So we're developing a combo flu COVID test.
• 5:47
  So our test will give you indication of, uh, whether you have flu or COVID.
• 5:52
  So if you're a manufacturing plant worker and you're starting to feel ill at work, uh, let's say you have a mild cough, you may wonder if you have flu or COVID, and so you can find out right away by going to our kiosk.
• 6:02
  And so what you would-- you would receive a-- You'll first fill out a questionnaire online.Uh, to write, uh, to input your s- your symptoms and based upon your lo- your location, you'll be directed to a nearby Everyplace Labs kiosk, um- Just to, just to pause you and make sure we get each of these steps.
• 6:18
  So is it sort of autonomous? So as a worker- Mm-hmm... I know we have an Everyplace Labs, uh- Yeah... kiosk. Mm-hmm. I have an app, and I can just kind of be in charge of my own testing? Mm-hmm. Exactly. Okay. Mm-hmm.
• 6:30
  Yeah. So it, it's completely self-initiated by the employee. And so, uh, they fill out the questionnaire, and then they get directed to the nearby kiosk.
• 6:39
  Since they're at the work site, they'll be directed to the kiosk that's at the work site. It's in a private location, a private conference room or a private office as an example.
• 6:48
  And so they go to the kiosk, and they have a QR code on their phone.
• 6:51
  So they start off by scanning the QR code on their phone on the kiosk, and the kiosk will use the information on the QR code to determine, uh, which test this employee needs. And so the kiosk has a vending mechanism.
• 7:03
  So if this employee needs a COVID flu test, then it'll dispense a test kit for COVID flu testing.
• 7:09
  In the future, if they need a drug test or a chronic disease test, it'll dispense a test kit that's associated with those types of tests.
• 7:15
  And so, uh, the employee will receive the test kit, and then inside are, are a number of different components. There is a cartridge inside, and there's a, a swab and, uh, self-sanitization wipes.
• 7:27
  Uh, so the kiosk has a screen with instructions that, that guides the user through the te- self-testing process and how to collect your sample yourself. Got it. And so you... Oh. Oh, go for it, Logan. No, no, no.
• 7:39
  I was just gonna say, and then y- I'm assuming you put it back into the machine. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
• 7:43
  So, uh, you open, you open the test kit, you self-collect your s-sample, and you simply insert the sample into the cartridge, and then you insert the cartridge into the machine, and then the machine automates the rest of the testing process from there.
• 7:55
  So it automates the sample reagent mixing, uh, sample dispensing onto a test strip, and then there's a vision system inside the kiosk that images the test strip at the 15-minute mark.
• 8:05
  And then we have a AI-enabled image processing algorithm that analyzes the image to de- to determine if you're positive for flu or COVID or if you're negative.
• 8:14
  And so after you insert the cartridge, you can simply walk away, and you'll receive results on your phone in 15 minutes. So you're only spending about five minutes of active time in this, in this process.
• 8:25
  Is designing this for, um, like, clinical accuracy, is that a huge challenge? Uh, uh, that... And is it one you've been able to overcome? Mm-hmm. Yeah.
• 8:34
  Uh, clinical accuracy, uh, demonstrating clinical accuracy is, uh, is very important to us. Uh, so one of the challenges with, uh, patient-initiated testing is, uh, user mistakes that may occur in the process.
• 8:47
  So our methodology is to automate, uh, as much, um, automate all the manual steps in the testing process, including, uh, sample reagent mixing that releases the viral antigen from the viral shell, uh, sample dispensing onto a test strip so that the same volume of sample is dropped onto each test strip.
• 9:03
  So we're, uh, it's a very consistent process. And then instead of a h- uh, the patient self-interpreting the test strip with their eyes, uh, our kiosk automatically interprets the result for them. Got it.
• 9:13
  So it removes subjectivity from the process. Got it. It, it, it makes me think of the, some of the at-home COVID tests that I've taken- Mm-hmm... and my children have taken that have required- Mm-hmm...
• 9:24
  me to, uh, you know, titrate [chuckles] a liquid- Right. Yeah... into a, into a beaker or whatever it is and, uh, and to read it myself. Mm-hmm.
• 9:31
  So we're currently allowing a lot of, uh, personal human error enter into it. Mm-hmm. Right. Exactly. Uh, Claire, question for you. Um, you know, the name of the company is Everyplace Labs.
• 9:42
  This is something that can be placed in a, a variety of environments. And I think about...
• 9:47
  Uh, well, here's my question for you is, you know, what role does, you know, putting these kiosks in different types of locations, kind of what, what role does that have in bringing, like, access to healthcare to different communities?
• 10:02
  Uh, where would you like to see these deployed? Sure. So, um, part of our initial focus on essential work sites is the patient population or the employee population that are in those places, right?
• 10:14
  So a lot of manufacturing plants are, uh, employing workers that, uh, do tend to be lower income and do tend to have access to care issues.
• 10:22
  So we're starting with the work site as a place where, um, employees can start to get access to care.
• 10:29
  Uh, but certainly, as you're suggesting, there are a lot of other environments where this platform could really expand access to care.
• 10:35
  Um, this kiosk can be placed in environments where there are no healthcare workers, which would allow us to place these in retail locations, um, in more rural areas to increase access to care there.
• 10:46
  Um, these could be placed, um, in homeless shelters to help, uh, community health clinics reach the populations that reside in those areas. So we see a lot of potential, certainly outside of the work site.
• 10:58
  Um, but certainly the work site is part of our plan to kind of increase access to underserved populations. Got it. M- Michael, I understand that the product is still in development.
• 11:07
  You're still early, but you've had some, some recent traction, some recent news. Why don't you tell me kind of where is the product at right now? Mm-hmm. Yeah, definitely.
• 11:18
  So we recently completed assembling our beta system. Uh, so this beta system, uh, it's a prototype that, uh, resembles a real product.
• 11:27
  Uh, it, it has the, uh, the optimized, uh, industrial design for the kiosk shell and the user interface and the user experience that the patient would go through for self-testing themselves.
• 11:38
  It also has an, uh, an internal analysis engine that automates the testing process inside.
• 11:44
  Uh, so before this, we developed an alpha prototype, which was the analysis engine, uh, that automates the testing process, and we conducted analytical studies in the lab, uh, for flu and COVID, and we compared ourselves against a BD Veritor reader, uh, a common point-of-care reader you would find at doctors of- doctor offices for point-of-care flu and COVID testing.
• 12:03
  And we found that our alpha prototype has a better accuracy, uh, than the BD reader, and it's a more sensitive system than a BD reader. And so, uh, with the beta system, w- we plan to conduct a clinical trial,
• 12:16
  um, at a community health clinic, uh, most likely in the Boston area, um, that serves the homeless population.
• 12:22
  And here we'll, uh, validate our r- the real-world sensitivity and specificity of our beta system when patients who are symptomatic for COVID, uh, uses our system.
• 12:31
  And we'll be comparing our results with, uh, PCR results from the lab to validate this accuracy.Uh, in parallel, uh, we're also doing a pilot at a manufacturing work site. So one of our pilot partners is Numera.
• 12:43
  It's a global medical device company, uh, headquartered in France, and they have a four hundred and thirty employee manufacturing plant in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
• 12:52
  And so, uh, the head of HR at Numera joined our advisory board to represent the voice of our, our target customer in the employer health space. And, uh, she and her team is one of our pilot partners.
• 13:03
  And we'll, we're, we'll be deploying our system at this work site and have manufacturing plant workers, uh, go through the user experience. So
• 13:11
  they'll go through the process of s- you know, scanning the QR code, uh, using the cartridge, self-collecting their sample a-and putting the cartridge into the system.
• 13:19
  And we're gonna review, uh, the user experience to see what types of mistakes they're making so we can improve our, our user interface design before the clinical trial. Nice. Okay.
• 13:28
  So clinical trial in Boston, uh, at a, a homeless shelter, and then a pilot program with a large manufacturer. Um- Mm-hmm... what's kind of your timeline or roadmap? Is that gonna take all of 2022? Mm-hmm.
• 13:41
  When do you hope, if everything goes as planned, to kind of come out of that and to expand to your next, um, pilot or product? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
• 13:51
  So, uh, for the usability phase pilot, uh, at the manufacturing plant, our goal is to complete that in Q1 of this year. Okay. Uh, so, uh,
• 13:59
  we, we've completed most of the willingness to use phase of that pilot where we, uh, conducted consumer surveys on the manufacturing plant workers that work at this plant.
• 14:08
  And they, across a, a variety of use cases, uh, they, they preferred our testing solution over other testing options in the market, uh, including at-home tests, uh, which we found interestingly, uh, none of the manufacturing plant workers have used before at this plant.
• 14:22
  Interesting. Um, yeah. That was- They, they actually just weren't testing. The, you know, it's like if you had flu-like symptoms, you just weren't gonna go get tested. Um. Mm-hmm.
• 14:31
  Uh, I'll, I'll let Claire, uh, share a little bit more about the- Yeah. So, correct.
• 14:34
  Um, presently at this manufacturing plant, they don't have any type of onsite testing solution, so for these employees, they're kind of left to their own devices to seek out testing when appropriate.
• 14:43
  Um, so placing something like this on site would enable, um, more employees to get tested as needed, whether for contact tracing or because they're symptomatic in the workplace.
• 14:54
  Claire, if you had to put a real human face on this, uh, thinking about who really benefits from rapid au- you know, autonomous testing, um, paint me a picture of, of the kind of patient that, that really, um, sees the real world health benefits of this.
• 15:14
  Sure.
• 15:14
  So, and Michael, I think, alluded to this a little bit earlier, but, um, you know, we know best the manufacturing plant workers since that's where we spent most of our time better understanding the use case for this product.
• 15:26
  Um, and so as Michael mentioned, these are, these are manufacturing plants that are operating twenty-four/seven, and these are employees that are working 12 hour shifts, whether that's from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM or from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM.
• 15:38
  And working those shifts, um, really doesn't allow them a lot of time before or after work to seek any type of healthcare.
• 15:44
  Um, and when they are at work, they're on a very strict schedule, um, where there are very limited breaks, both for lunch as well as general breaks throughout the workday.
• 15:52
  Um, there's not really an opportunity for them to leave the site to get tested. Um, and if they do leave s- the site to get tested, uh, there are significant productivity, uh, impacts to the workplace.
• 16:02
  Uh, you know, entire manufacturing lines may have to go down if there are large enough numbers of people that are not there.
• 16:08
  And so, um, there are a lot of constraints in this type of work environment, both on the employer and the employee.
• 16:14
  Um, and so in providing a testing option on site, uh, these types of employees who might otherwise delay care or not seek care, um, can get care in a timely manner during the short breaks that they do have.
• 16:25
  Um, and for employers, they can prevent any type of, um, extreme situations of absenteeism that could im-impact the productivity of their firm.
• 16:34
  So, um, that, that's an example of kind of the type of situation in which we find our product to be most impactful. Yeah. Yeah. Um, Michael, it, it- Michael...
• 16:43
  sort of interests me that you are really creating a, a new piece of hardware in an environment, in a health tech ecosystem that tends towards software and SaaS platforms. You're taking on a real hardware challenge. Mm.
• 16:57
  A-and also at a time with, you know, supply chain breakdowns and some- Mm. Right... some additional hardware [chuckles] challenges.
• 17:03
  And so I wonder if you could just kinda tell us what that has been like developing the, the hardware itself and what some of those hurdles have been. Mm-hmm. Uh, yeah, definitely.
• 17:15
  Um, as you mentioned, uh, the employer health space, it's non-traditional to medical devices. It's a newer space for medical devices. Uh, traditionally, medical device companies, uh, sell their products to hospitals.
• 17:26
  Uh, so this is definitely a new frontier for the medical device industry.
• 17:30
  Um, and so, uh, as part of that, uh, i-it's interesting we're, uh, on the fundraising side, uh, it's interest-- it's-- the challenge is finding, uh, folks who understand employer health space and the hardware development space and the regulatory- Yeah...
• 17:44
  pathway. And then, so there's a bit of a chicken and the egg where we need to raise funds to develop the hardware, but we also need to develop hardware to raise the funds.
• 17:51
  Uh, so we, uh, scrap together funds as we can and really bootstrap and, uh, push the product forward in a very lean way.
• 17:58
  Um, in terms of like the supply chain shortage, we, uh, buy components in advance if we anticipate there may be shortages.
• 18:05
  Uh, as example, swabs, uh, some of our s- uh, microprocessors inside our system, uh, there are def- there are different shortages in the market right now, so we buy those in advance. Um,
• 18:17
  and then in terms of the hardware development, uh, you know, we have the one-- our industrial design partner, uh, they're, uh, they've been a, a great partner for us.
• 18:24
  They've gone above and beyond in helping us develop the industrial design for our beta system and, uh, they, you know, they offered us really great pricing, so it helped us keep costs low and, uh, really develop this in a cost effective manner.So, so being, uh, in hardware might make it hard to sell for some investors, but I'm guessing, this is a question, uh, does it also create a different, an important differentiation for others?
• 18:49
  Do you find that while some don't wanna go there just traditionally- Mm-hmm. Yeah... others, their interest is piqued because it's different? Mm-hmm. I think so. Is that true? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay.
• 18:59
  Uh, so I think, uh, uh, for the investors who don't want to go there, they typically see the value in it, but they want to come in after we have FDA approval. Got it. As an example. Okay.
• 19:10
  Uh, but I think for the investors who have a higher risk tolerance, who are will- willing to come in before FDA approval, uh, they see higher barriers to entry and higher differentiation.
• 19:19
  So, uh, you know, it may cost, uh, if someone wanted to copy us and, uh, c- come into the market, uh, they... it- it'll cost them, you know, $5 to $10 million to also develop a system similar to ours. Got it.
• 19:31
  We already have a, we already have IP filings in place to, you know- Got it... help prevent them from coming in. Yeah. So that device becomes the moat around your, your idea, around your company. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
• 19:41
  Uh, so you are seeking FDA approval. What does that roadmap look like? Mm-hmm. Uh, yeah, so, um, right now, um, we're in the proof of concept stage.
• 19:51
  After we validate the sensitivity and specificity of our beta system in a clinical trial, uh, we'll be developing our pre-production system, and this is what we will be submitting to the FDA, uh, for a FDA 510[k] approval, uh, with a home use designation, which allows patients to, uh, self-initiate the tests, uh, in any location, whether it's in, in the home or in a community setting.
• 20:14
  Uh, so, uh, the way we think about our pathway to FDA submission is, um, assuming we're fully funded, uh, we can get to the FDA submission in about a year.
• 20:23
  Um, and this is assuming, you know, we have all the funds right now to really push everything forward. Got it. Uh, final question.
• 20:31
  Claire, if someone's listening to this and they want to partner with you, uh, who is the ideal Everyplace Labs partner at this stage in your development? Sure.
• 20:42
  So, um, we are looking for commercial partners, um, specifically organizations that are interested in implementing an on-site testing solution.
• 20:51
  Um, we're looking for folks who can help, uh, deploy our system to their employee population, um, and help us kind of validate the use case for this, um, demonstrate the impact that it would have, uh, on your employee population and on your workplace.
• 21:04
  Um, and we're specifically looking for employers that are kind of in those essential worker spaces, so manufacturing plants, transportation, warehousing, uh, retail, um, schools, law enforcement, um, anything like that where you have employees that are at high risk of exposure, um, that could use, uh, on-site COVID testing or flu testing, uh, to kind of keep, uh, the public health of, uh, your employees and, you know, your communities, uh, there and safe.
• 21:34
  Awesome. Any final word from you, Michael? Um, I just wanted to answer one of your questions from before I didn't get to answer. Yeah, go for it.
• 21:42
  Uh, for the clinical trial, the timing for that is we're targeting to start that in May and complete it in summer of this year. That's the one in Boston? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Awesome.
• 21:52
  Um, well, that's the time that we have today. Michael, Claire, I really appreciate your time with me today. Really excited about this challenge that you've taken on.
• 22:00
  It's, it's a creative look at really opening up access not just to testing, but to care, and I see this as the beginning of, um, bringing other types of care to, to these locations and turning non-traditional spaces like a community center, a library, um, these manufacturing plants, into places of care, and I think that's, that's really exciting, and I, and I love what you're doing.
• 22:27
  Oh. Thank you, Logan. Thanks so much for having us today. Thank you for having us. Keep up the great work, and hope to see you soon. Take care. You too. See you in Miami. [laughs] See you in Miami. Take care. You too.
• 22:39
  [upbeat music] Thanks for listening to Startup Health NOW. Startup Health invests in health transformers from around the world who are committed to achieving audacious health moonshots.
• 22:49
  If you wanna learn how you can join this community of entrepreneurs, or if you want to connect with one of our 380 companies, go to startuphealth.com.
• 22:57
  If you'd like to learn how you can invest in our Health Moonshot Impact Fund in collaboration with AngelList, go to healthmoonshots.com. Thanks for listening to Startup Health NOW. We'll be back next week. [upbeat music]