Double board appointment and clinical study back Oxehealth’s vision for non-contact vital sign technology
– Dual appointment Jonathan Chevallier as CEO and Ben Stock as CTO endorses market opportunity for non-contact vital sign monitoring
– Oxford University Hospital NHS Trust study validates Oxehealth Technology against traditional monitoring devices
Oxehealth, the non-contact vital sign technology company, today underlined its intention of delivering opportunity to new sectors with the appointment of two experienced technology board members: CEO Jonathan Chevallier and CTO Ben Stock.
Jonathan Chevallier’s extensive 25 years’ experience in the software, consulting and IT services industry stand him in good stead to develop and implement high-growth business development strategies. Jonathan’s role as CEO will task him with spotting new markets and commercial opportunities for Oxehealth; with his knowledge spanning both the mobile technology and healthcare sector, following previous leadership roles at Cognito and Ascribe Consulting. Jonathan was also a Director of Druid Group plc, which delivered one of the highest returns of the 1990s for its private equity backers.
Ben Stock has acted as Technical Director or CTO of companies in a variety of vertical domains including petro-chemicals, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and healthcare. A computational mathematics graduate with postgraduate study in Spatial Analysis techniques, Ben went on to start and sell a number of companies, including most recently a healthcare integration company, which was bought by WCI Consulting for whom Ben went on to be CTO.
Following a study of 46 patients at the Oxford Kidney Unit Oxehealth has received official validation from Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. The results produced in the study validated the Oxecam’s algorithms showing a strong correlation to the measurements from conventional monitoring (the error on measuring heart rate was equivalent to that between two validated pulse oximeters from different manufacturers). The Oxecam also avoided certain errors caused in traditional monitoring when the chest bands used for measuring breathing rate moved out of position and gave erroneous readings.
New CEO Jonathan Chevallier explains the importance of these studies: “Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust has been a partner in the development of the Oxecam and supported the first clinical studies. These practical studies are key to taking innovation and applying it to real world situations, which is something that sets Oxehealth apart from others in the industry, and why I am joining to help carve out the future for this exciting new technology.”
The new appointments highlight the commercial opportunity for the University of Oxford’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering spin-out company; which delivers patented vital sign solutions that work in the real world and utilise innovative, clinically validated algorithms. Its patented Oxecam technology developed in the research labs of world-leading scientist Professor Lionel Tarassenko and backed by IP Group plc enables a digital camera, tablet or phone to monitor the vital signs of an individual, without the need for any physical contact or expensive proprietary equipment.
The company will commercialise its proprietary algorithms by licensing software to established global providers of consumer and clinical health services and products, with the objective of providing the licensee with a clear competitive advantage that they can deploy on scale and at speed.
“Oxehealth’s non-competitive partnering is not a threat to the market and should be seen as a huge opportunity for partnership in markets like, technology, healthcare and fitness to name a few,” commented Allan Wood, Chairman of Oxehealth. “I am delighted to have Jonathan and Ben on board to lead this vision and partnering opportunities.”
Oxehealth
Oxehealth Ltd is a software developer spun out from University of Oxford’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering in 2012. Oxehealth is focused on providing advanced solutions which monitor vital signs. It does this through a range of software products with embedded intelligent algorithms which combine three key attributes: complex signal processing to allow accurate non-contact monitoring; machine learning, to provide personalised healthcare models; and clinical validation.
These solutions have the capability to transform the next generation of healthcare and patient monitoring. Its patented Oxecam technology developed in the research labs of world-leading scientist Professor Lionel Tarassenko and backed by IP Group plc enables a digital camera to monitor the vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation) of individuals, without the need for expensive proprietary equipment. The vital sign measurements have been clinically validated in studies at the Oxford Kidney Unit.
Applications for the technology include post-operative monitoring, COPD, assisted living, providing lower cost smartphone or webcam diagnostics in inaccessible situations such as underdeveloped third world countries, and other sectors such as automotive, where the continuous monitoring of vital signs could be life-saving.
