JAPAN TIMES



 

Home to the oldest population anywhere on Earth, Japan offers an opportunity to startups operating on medtech’s frontier.

Six years ago, Atsushi Nakanishi launched Triple W with nothing but the seed of an idea and an overwhelming passion to realize it. Today, the startup is the creator and seller of DFree — the world’s first wearable device for urinary incontinence.

The tiny, noninvasive device uses ultrasound to monitor the volume of urine in the user’s bladder in real time. When the bladder reaches its threshold, DFree sends an alert to the user’s smartphone to tell them it is time to go to the bathroom.

Nakanishi credits the ground-breaking product to a eureka moment in 2013. Due to uncontrollable diarrhea, he soiled himself in the street and, not long after, he learned that sales in Japan of adult diapers had surpassed that of baby diapers. Seeing both the need and demand for a product that lets people know when to use the bathroom, he “felt inspired” despite having zero medical background.

“In Japan, 78% of elderly people have urinary problems, such as frequent urination or loss of bladder control,” says Nakanishi. “I thought we could provide a solution for nursing homes and hospitals, and support rehabilitation and toilet care.”

DFree is one of thousands of products catering to the silver demographic that have entered the marketplace in recent years, prompting the world to look to Japan for solutions to the challenges presented by aging societies.

As home to the oldest population in the world with more than 28% of the country age 65 or older, Japan is ahead of the curve in the development of senior-related health care. And startups are among the organizations at the forefront of innovation in the sector, driven by both opportunity and a desire to do good.

Sendai-based TESS Co. develops, produces and distributes Cogy, a revolutionary wheelchair powered by the pedaling of the user, enabling them to maintain or even improve mobility. It is designed as an alternative to a walking stick or walking frame for those classified as pre-frail or frail, most of whom are older people.

“All of us will get weaker as we get older,” says Kenji Suzuki, founder and representative director. “People (with mobility issues or pain in their legs) need to keep moving. Our product can stop their symptoms from worsening and help them live a longer and healthier life.”

Cogy combines elements of a wheelchair and a bicycle, a concept that at first attracted skepticism and surprise. According to Suzuki, the medical profession was reluctant to get behind such a novel idea, while wheelchair and bicycle manufacturers rejected production, for reasons of capability and liability, respectively.

“It’s an innovative item but the basic technology is surprisingly simple — that’s why it’s difficult (to comprehend),” Suzuki says. “But Cogy shows us that by adapting existing things and technologies to the times, we can create miracles that no one has ever seen or experienced.”

Although both products have clear applications for older people, they are helping a much broader audience, too.

DFree has proven effective among people who have disabilities or are recovering from illness or injury. According to Nakanishi, one user with a brain injury resumed using the toilet after 18 months on diapers. Another, a 7-year-old boy with a disability, was able to undergo toilet training and transition to underwear.

Cogy, meanwhile, is also being used as a rehabilitation and training device at medical institutions and welfare facilities.

With some 180,000 medical institutions nationwide and a population of largely tech-savvy early adopters, Japan offers strong opportunities for the proliferation of such cutting-edge products via professional partnerships as well as direct sales to individuals.

Foreign-run, Tokyo-based startup Bisu Inc. is hoping its “home health lab” receives a warm welcome on entering the market next year. Designed to help anyone better understand their health condition, the technology centers around a urine and saliva analyzer characterized by microfluidic technology, novel design and intelligent software.

Unlike conventional urine test strips, which co-founder and CEO Daniel Maggs says have barely changed in almost 70 years, Bisu requires only a few drops of sample to be placed on the test stick, which is then inserted into a device and read in real-time. Users receive the results, along with custom advice on how to optimize their health and fitness, on their smart device within two minutes.

“People have long had limited, inaccurate or inefficient tools to understand the effect of their daily habits on their bodies,” says Maggs, adding that Bisu “marks a major step forward in the way people monitor their health.”

Although the first product line is focused on nutrition, such as the level of vitamins, minerals and water in the body, work is already under way to expand to oral, baby and even pet health. Long term, the idea is to provide a complete suite of tests for the whole family.

Rapid innovations in the field of microfluidics have opened up such opportunities, according to co-founder and CTO Wojciech Bula, who says startups can bring labs’ highly sophisticated technology to the mass market in the form of useful products.

“We can adapt — or even pivot — very fast, which gives us an advantage over larger companies,” he says.

Bisu has also been creative in the way it tackles challenges. Urine test strips, for example, are a regulated medical device, as they check for signs of disease, but Bisu uses only the portion that tests health, such as the user’s level of hydration, meaning it is not classed as a medical device.

While large companies have tended to worry about regulations, Bisu Inc.’s detailed knowledge and agility has helped it to develop a successful prototype, Maggs says.