Israeli telehealth company TytoCare, which is developing a solution for remote medical diagnosis and examination, has signed a commercial collaboration agreement with the Light Vortex Division, the digital activities arm, of Japanese insurance giant Sompo.
The companies have recently received the regulatory approval of the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), and last week TytoCare and Sompo executives signed the agreement in the presence of Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi and Israel's Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sompo, in cooperation with another Japanese company Allm, will install and incorporate the remote medical solution that TytoCare has developed, while focusing on the elderly. In the first stage, the companies will focus on nursing homes and the elderly care market.
Among its activities, Sompo operates a chain of nursing homes for the elderly in Japan, which is the biggest in the country in terms of the number of rooms: 301 nursing homes with 28,500 rooms. Sompo also operates 58 day centers for the elderly and 505 centers which provide various services for the older generations. There are several challenges for the treatment of the elderly in Japan such as the growth in demand for services, and nursing care for an aging population, a shortage in nursing care professionals, and improving the quality of service required by this environment. Japan is among the countries where the aging of the population is one of the fastest and the proportion of this generation is one of the highest in the world due to a low birth rate: the proportion of people aged 65 and over in the country has already crossed the 30% mark. Israel in comparison stands between 10% and 15%.
Yinnon Dolev, Head of the Sompo Innovation Center in Israel said, "The collaboration between the three companies aims to upgrade the care of the elderly through the groundbreaking solution developed by TytoCare in the field of remote medicine, which includes a diagnostic camera, a digital stethoscope, and an AI-based clinical insights module that assists doctors in diagnosis. The purpose of the collaboration is to produce optimal data-based medical care, in places where the medical staff is not physically present."
TytoCare, which was founded 11 years ago, has raised $205 million to date, and is active in countries including the US, UK, Switzerland, Australia, and Italy. The company has two solutions that are adapted to the needs of various customers: Home Smart Clinic, designed for home use and allowing remote diagnosis and examination including virtual clinics, remote clinics and in community centers. The company’s solutions allow eight frequent tests to be implemented, such as: temperature, heart, pulse, lungs, throat, ears, stomach, and skin. The device transmits the test results to the doctor who can conduct the remote medical testing.
TytoCare cofounder and CEO Dedi Gilad said, "The collaboration combines our advanced telemedicine solutions with Sompo's commitment to making healthcare services accessible to the Japanese market, and thereby enabling a significant leap forward in the experience and quality of healthcare services for older patients. We believe that in the end we can together improve the well-being of the community and set new standards for the quality and convenience of medicine in Japan in general."
The collaboration between TytoCare and Allm is led by the Sompo Israel Innovation Center in Tel Aviv, which is responsible for investments and collaborations with Israel and European technology companies in the fields of insurtech, digital health, transport, blockchain, cybersecurity, and more.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 12, 2023.
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