Technology

This cardiac care startup just landed $20M for virtual rehab services – TechCrunch


Moving Analytics (Movn), a virtual at-home intervention program for high-risk cardiac patients, claims to be “the most clinically validated” cardiac rehabilitation program on the market. Though other online-based programs exist, others either address other international markets, like Heart2Heart, or work only with very specific current insurance partners, like Henry Ford Health.

Moving Analytics founders and undergraduate friends Harsh Vathsangam and Shuo Qiao met their third co-founder, Ade Adesanya, at the University of Southern California. The trio had all immigrated to the United States with the hopes of becoming engineers, but soon after, their goal turned into having a “data-driven approach to making a dent in healthcare.”

Moving Analytics founders outside their Irvine office. Left to right: Joe Villanueva, Ade Adesanya, Harsh Vathsangam, Shuo Qiao. Image Credits: Moving Analytics

The Irvine-based company is looking to provide recovering heart attack and heart disease patients an at-home alternative to care with guided support over a 12-week course.

“A big part of the program is … we provide empathy to those patients around ‘Hey, we know this is a major event that’s happened to you, this is not the end of your world and there’s a lot of things you can do if you follow our guidance to actually get a stronger heart,’” Adesanya said.

Every patient is provided a cellular enabled scale, an American Heart Association information book, exercise bands, a Bodytrace blood pressure cuff and a Garmin fitness tracker to help monitor and track their progress throughout the course.

The company is set up as a healthcare provider and contracts with various insurance partners — Kaiser Permanente, Allegheny Health Network, CDPHP to name a few — and currently runs operations in 14 states with approximately 4,000 patients. If a cardiac patient opts for at-home care, they are then referred to the Movn team.

Nationally, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the country, which accounts for about 25% of deaths. Fewer than 20% of eligible cardiac rehab patients enroll in a program.

Additionally, patients who also engage in cardiac rehab reduce the risk of dying from a heart attack, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

According to figures provided to TechCrunch, the company claims to have seen an increase in enrollment and program completion rates across some of their partners. At Kaiser, for example, figures show prior completion rates were at 14% and are now at 88%. Similar figures are shown at other partners.

“I think that for us we just feel a sense of responsibility with this opportunity that we have to make sure that we can make the world just a little bit more better,” Adesanya said “And, you know, essentially, in terms of just work and healthcare, innovation, we can make it a little bit more inclusive, too.”

The company declined to say how much their program cost but claimed to offer a “cheaper” alternative to traditional in-person sessions. The average cost of an in-person session is approximately $240, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine.

Co-founders Ade Adesanya (left) and Shuo Qiao (right) discussing business expansions in the Moving Analytics office. Image Credits: Moving Analytics

Movn has been able to convince investors as they have secured $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Wellington Access Ventures and Seae Ventures, with participation from Philips Ventures. According to the company, the investment is coming in the form of all equity — though they declined to share at what valuation.

In total, the company has raised $30 million and will use the new funds to expand their coverage across all 50 states, hire staff and begin implementing bilingual programming to better serve marginalized communities.



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