LAVAN’s first investee, MobileODT, continues to attract international recognition. Previously highlighted by Fast Company as one of the top 10 most innovative companies of 2015 in Israel, MobileODT was recently announced by Business Insider to be one of “53 Startups that will be huge in 2016”. In October of 2015, the company also took first place in AdvaMed’s 2015 MedTech Innovator Competition.
While this last award is less well known, it may be the most important of the bunch. MobileODT was selected out of over 300 candidates from around the world, competing for a coveted place in AdvaMed’s accelerator and a $200,000 cash prize. The Competition’s selection committee lauded MobileODT’s success in bringing a much anticipated healthcare revolution to fruition – leveraging the power of mobile technology to provide low-cost, high quality, and accessible healthcare worldwide.
Co-Founders Ariel Beery, CEO, and David Levitz, CTO, launched MobileODT in 2012 with the goal of saving the lives of 270,000 women who die each year from cervical cancer in the developing world. The proprietary mobile colposcope they developed can be connected to a smartphone and used to screen for cervical cancer in field conditions. The device retails for a mere 10% of traditional alternatives and relies on cloud-enabled technology to further reduce costs by transmitting images to off-site physicians. Copies of these images are stored in MobileODT’s research database, enabling their team to develop algorithm-based diagnostic solutions to further support clinicians.
Cervical cancer is the first of many markets for MobileODT’s technology, which can be easily adapted to screen for oral, anal and dermatological cancers. “Our goal is to make diagnostic imaging available to everyone on the planet,” says Beery. While the company designed the device to meet needs of the developing world – rugged conditions and limited clinician training in low-resource settings – customers in the developed world have also taken note and are placing orders. Notably, the company has begun supplying devices to U.S. Emergency Departments who have recognized MobileODT’s technology as a much-needed solution for sexual assault photo-documentation.
While MobileODT’s innovative technology continues to provide social impact, it has also delivered financial benefits for the company and its investors. The AdvaMed prize is just one in a series of cash prizes and grants that the company has won, adding up to more than one million dollars in non-dilutive capital to date. The company exemplifies a new breed of impact startups – quickly gaining steam within Israel – that is capturing the attention and dollars of global corporations and foundations interested in the Israeli ‘tech for good’ market. It is no coincidence that four of the ten winners at December’s Medica convention in Dusseldorf hailed from Israel. And, you guessed it, MobileODT was right there on stage among them.