Early Medical AI startup, Zeit Medical started out at Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign in 2017 and is exploring the area of at-home monitoring for stroke victims.
According to CDC,
- In 2018, 1 in every 6 deaths from cardiovascular disease was due to stroke.
- Someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds. Every 4 minutes, someone dies of stroke.
- Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. About 610,000 of these are first or new strokes
- #1 Cause of Disability in US
Early stroke detection is one of the most important factors that determine how well and how quickly the patient recovers. Patients who arrive at the emergency room within 3 hours of their first symptoms often have less disability 3 months after a stroke than those who received delayed care.
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By losing the race against the clock, the chances of recovering from the disability go down very quickly. 
There is absolutely a need to shorten the time between the onset of stroke and bringing the patient to treatment at a hospital.
Zeit Medical has explored this opportunity at great length and has a AI-based platform that is targeting to shorten the time between stroke detection and your call to 911.
Orestis Vardoulis, the founder of Zeit Medical believes that 20-30% of strokes happen during the nighttime and the company’s wearable headband along with the smartphone-based app will go a long way in mitigating the risks associated with strokes.
Zeit Medical’s app reads EEG data via a wearable sensor (a headband), applies specific signal processing techniques to detect stroke as soon as it occurs, and connects the user to emergency services. This is an example of software as a medical device (SaMD) that can really help patients who have Stroke related risks.
Users with a risk of stroke will wear this wearable when going to bed. In the case of a nighttime stroke, the wearable’s EEG is monitored by the app and in the case of a stroke, it notifies the user and provides an option to automatically dial 911.
The fast and sophisticated AI-based algorithms embedded in the Zeit app help in reducing the time between the time of the actual stroke and the 911 call. There is no second-guessing when using the app. As soon as the app detects a stroke, it notifies the user or caregiver and provides an option to dial emergency services.
The company will start by helping people who have already had a stroke or TIA event.
The company is targeting a commercial launch by early 2023 and is already working towards FDA clearance.
They already have a breakthrough designation from FDA. The product will be available as a direct-to-consumer product but will be a prescription-based offering. It is expected to be priced at $35/month for subscribers.
