A Space-Age Medical Device
Memory foam, baby formula, cordless drills — all three innovations were originally developed for NASA, and eventually made billions of dollars here on Earth.
A new type of blood-testing platform created by a startup called rHEALTH may be the next winner on this list.
This device was successfully tested aboard the International Space Station in 2022. But soon after, its creators realized that the device had great potential on Earth. So it aimed to create a consumer version, and launched a startup called rHEALTH to bring it to market.
rHEALTH launched in 2023. The company has raised more than $23 million in funding from NASA, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Chan realized the potential for a consumer version of the blood-testing platform while seeing patients at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
He was noticing delays in getting diagnostic test information from patients. The more time passed without this information, the more likely a patient was to suffer. So he wondered…
“What if I can have a device in my hand that gives us the health information about a patient immediately?”
This is what led to the creation of rHEALTH. In addition to his role with this startup, Dr. Chan is Founder, President, and Chief Scientific Officer of DMI, where he’s led the company for almost twenty years. He’s also Chairman of the Board of Directors with Abpro, a company developing antibody therapies for life-threatening diseases.
Prior to starting these companies, he founded US Genomics, a biotech company. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemical Studies and an MD in Medicine from Harvard.
Marcus designed rHEALTH’s device and has a background in medical-product development.
Most recently, he was Director of Big Gun Creations, a product-development and packaging business where he worked with clients including Pfizer, NASA, and Speedo.
Before that, he was a freelance consultant, serving clients including Motorola, Siemens, and Nestle.
Earlier in his career, Marcus was an industrial designer with Dyson, a company selling vacuums and other cleaning appliances. He studied Architecture at City College of San Francisco and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Product Design from De Montfort University in England.
Prior to joining rHEALTH, John was Operations Director with Nordson Medical, a New Hampshirebased medical-equipment manufacturing business. Before that, he was an operations manager with Vention Medical, a similar medical-equipment company.
Earlier in his career, he was a system and sales manager with Advanced Polymers, a company creating specialty chemicals. John earned a degree in Electrical Mechanical Drafting Technology from Middlesex Community College.
An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. The NIH both conducts its own scientific research through its Intramural Research Program (IRP) and provides major biomedical research funding to non-NIH research facilities through its Extramural Research Program.
Just enter your e-mail address below & get this guide instantly
No thanks, I’d like to continue making next to nothing in the stock market.
