It’s been a big few weeks for remote patient monitoring solutions provider Cloud DX (TSX-V:CDX, OTCQB:CDXFF).
The Kitchener, Ontario-based company not only announced a $770,000 contract for its Vitaliti Continuous Vital Sign Monitor Systems and related software but has also reached an international distribution agreement with Sanrai International.
Under the agreement, Sanrai will distribute and resell Cloud DX's Connected Health products and services, a remote patient monitoring platform used by healthcare professionals to virtually manage chronic disease, enable aging in place, and deliver hospital-quality post-surgical care in the home.
Cloud DX CEO Robert Kaul joined Proactive's Steve Darling to discuss these landmark achievements.
Proactive: This Vitaliti contract is interesting because it’s not only for the services you provide but also the technology, a hardware and software deal, right?
RK: That’s true and this is a really exciting milestone for Cloud DX (TSX-V:CDX, OTCQB:CDXFF). What we announced is the first order of a brand new type of medical device, a continuous vital sign monitor, invented entirely by Cloud DX.
This goes all the way back to when we were the first Canadian company to ever win the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition. It was a $10 million competition where we were one of three winners who then got to go back to a clean sheet of paper and redesign the technology for commercial use and get it thoroughly tested and validated before using it on patients.
We’ve now announced that the first tranche of those units will be made in Canada by Cloud DX and delivered for use in a very, very exciting 20,000-patient study at a prestigious research institute.
Tell me how it works and what sorts of patients you will be monitoring during this study.
Vitaliti is a very advanced device and system. It’s a whole platform, powered by artificial intelligence. It includes a very lightweight, small module that is stuck to the patient’s chest with ECG leads and a comfortable earpiece that you pop in your ear.
Those devices have sensors on them - this is an ECG sensor system - so it picks up on the electrical activity of your heart. There are actually additional ECG leads that can be plugged in so you can get a full five leads of ECG, which is what cardiologists need to properly diagnose or treat any type of cardiac condition. From the earpiece, we’re getting pulse oxygen and body temperature.
But here’s where the magic happens. Those signals are then processed on board by very advanced cardiac software and we’re able to derive the blood pressure, even without cuffs for monitoring blood pressure, 24/7 which is a massive advance in technology. There are very few devices that can even do that at all, and they’re only used in hospitals.
This is the first device of its kind designed to be used by ordinary people 24/7 that includes continuous non-invasive blood pressure but we also get pulse oxygen, body temperature, and respiration – we get all of your heart metrics. All of the information is then available for AI to crunch and the bigger and better AI gets, the more insights we derive.
Will this set up a potential new revenue stream this year?
As we announced, it’s already generating significant revenue which is exciting for the company. And that’s just for the first 300 units which is only the beginning of the requirement for this giant study.
Beyond that, we’re already fielding inquiries from literally all over the world about how soon this technology can be in people’s hands. It is launching a whole new source of revenue for Cloud DX and a whole new revolution in vital sign monitoring for the world. This is made-in-Canada patented technology and we’re very excited to be able to talk about it.
Another big announcement for the company is its contract with Sanrai International for worldwide distribution. How is that going to work?
This is our first international distribution agreement. Sanrai International has grown quickly over the last couple of decades and has a huge footprint in 65 countries from Latin America to Africa and the Middle East.
How do you see Cloud DX operating in these areas?
The need for new medical technology, especially the kind of remote patient monitoring that Cloud DX specializes in, is global.
Sanrai International is an expert in respiratory care and one of the leading providers of oxygen therapy in large parts of the world. They also have a large home care business. So these are the use cases that we have specialized in for years here in Canada and in the United States and we have a long track record of success caring for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, folks who have chronic illnesses or have just recovered from surgery.
The other aspect of Cloud DX that really resonates is our success at patient engagement, patient satisfaction and keeping patients compliant with their care. That becomes a competitive advantage for a dealer who is deploying Cloud DX technology. So, we’re bringing the best care we can for patients but also our customer engagement is going to make a big difference.
I can’t even imagine the cost of opening up offices in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Having an established partner like this sounds like a real winner for the company.
It’s the only way to grow quickly. Trying to open a satellite office in another nation in a different language and a different culture is very challenging, almost impossible, especially for a small company. Being able to work with a dealer network that has a large presence in much of the world gives us that opportunity.
We’re mostly a software company and, because our partner Microsoft is present all over the world and internet services are ubiquitous, that puts us in a position to bring very advanced medical care even to parts of the world that are missing some of the medical infrastructure that we take for granted.
Quotes have been edited for clarity and style