Digital healthcare: Evolution or Revolution? BeFC CEO Jules Hammond, looks back at CES 2024

CES has put a keen focus on two themes for its 2024 edition: Sustainability and Digital Healthcare. They are themes which resonate with our own, says BeFC CEO - Jules HAMMOND

CES has been good to BeFC. 2024 is the fourth time we have attended this prestigious event, and during that time BeFC has won four awards for innovation. The event has become the “holy grail” for start-ups, like our own, specialising in emerging technology and one that has helped to significantly raise the profile of our brand, and our technology.

The statistics for CES 2024 did not betray, in any way, the scale of this technological colossus: 2.5 million square feet of exhibition space, 4 000 exhibitors, and more than 1 200 startups (hosted at Eureka Park). CES proved itself, once again, to be a Mecca for emerging technology.

‍Sustainability and Digital Healthcare: a natural synergy with BeFC core technologies, products, and values

Two CES 2024 themes fit hand-in-hand with BeFC’s own. Sustainability remains the bedrock of our core technology, via an environmentally-compatible, paper-based biofuel cell, that uses enzymes to generate clean electricity from glucose and oxygen. Our biofuel cell , I believe, will become a viable alternative to the low-voltage coin cells used widely in microelectronics, and more increasingly, disposable electronics goods. Over 15 billion primary (non-rechargeable) batteries are estimated to be thrown away each year and approximately 97% of coin cells end up in landfill– where they invariably leach toxic materials such as lithium, cadmium and mercury into nature (and our water table)! It’s not difficult to understand, therefore, why the CTA (Consumer Technology Association) put sustainability high up on the agenda for CES 2024.

Digital Healthcare: Telehealth is here.

Another key theme that the Consumer Technology Association, the CES organisers, shined a light on this year, is Digital Healthcare. Digital Healthcare has been in the spotlight for some time but has started gaining traction at some speed since the end of the COVID epidemic.  The reasons for this are clear. In a world where life expectancy is constantly growing, but in parallel with the cost of healthcare, telehealth solutions, particularly those based around wearables are seen as an important means of bridging this important (and expensive) gap.

BeFC recently announced its participation in the HIC International Accelerator Programme (IAP). The IAP initiative has been uniquely designed to facilitate access to the UK digital healthcare market for early-stage start-ups and innovation/healthcare technologies and has a mission to use digital healthcare technology to solve some of the most pressing challenges faced by NHS organizations.

We see the same phenomenon in the US, where insurance companies are already investing in telehealth “prevention before cure” solutions as a means of optimising their business models and better serving customers who find themselves outside the traditional healthcare concentrations of urban conurbations.

BeFC active sensor modules. Powered by a sustainable, biodegradable energy source.

The health and medical sectors were identified early on as markets of interest by BeFC. The success of CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) systems for diabetes patients are proof of the value of a new personalised approach to medicine. In economic terms, the market has grown exponentially, with the market expected to pass USD 12 billion by 2028. But let’s not forget that this is a socio-economic success story. The ability for patients to monitor and better manage their own health is every bit as important (if not arguably more so) than the commercial success story.

Moving the model forward: cleaner energy sources and communication modules

As CGM diabetes patches become increasingly prolific, so will the issues related to their correct disposal, especially the batteries that power them. BeFC’s vision for the future is for continuous monitoring wearables, to be driven by technologies like our recyclable and/or compostable biofuel cell; a move which would significantly mitigate the environmental impact and wastage related to digital healthcare technologies.

But BeFC is also developing active sensor modules which can communicate data from centimeters to up to one hundred kilometers using a variety of communication modules such as RFID, Bluetooth, and Sigfox.

The ability to analyse such data remotely enables healthcare providers to add an important safeguard into the existing model. Though most medical practitioners recognise the value of autonomy — that patients play an active role in the management of their health conditions — it makes sense not to entirely depend on the patient; and telemetry-based solutions offer potential answers to these expensive and important challenges.

Although wearables remain market “kingpins”, as proven by the numerous prospects who visited our stand this year, the market is diversifying. We attracted a lot of interest this year from visitors wanting to talk about the possibility of linking our biofuel cells to subcutaneous, ingestible, and implantable devices. The market is waking up to the possibilities offered by sustainable energy sources like BeFC’s biofuel cell.

The market is ready: We are ready…

According to statistics released by CES, the market, and more importantly, end users, are ready. In surveys carried out by the CTA, 70% of consumers have indicated that they are likely to use one or more digital health solutions in the future to improve their overall health or well-being. In the United States, where (like many other countries) there is limited healthcare access to underserved segments of the population, it seems clear that telehealth solutions are an effective means of managing long-term health conditions in a cost-effective manner.

And when used in tandem with a sustainable energy source such as the paper-based biofuel cell of BeFC, our planet doesn’t have to pick up the tab to pay for this privilege.

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