Jeevtronics (Healthtech startup) – Cardiovascular diseases and sudden cardiac arrest are becoming an increasing burden on the global population. According to a report published in the journal Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology Review (AER), sudden and unexpected cardiac death is the leading cause of death globally, accounting for 17 million deaths each year.
Ashish Gawade and Aniruddha Atre, entrepreneurs and childhood friends, have developed battery-free hand-cranked defibrillators that can be powered both electrically and manually.
Jeevtronics (Healthtech startup), a Pune-based company founded in 2013, has developed a battery-free defibrillator called the SanMitra 1000 HCT that can be used in the absence of electricity. These devices employ electric shocks to restore normal heartbeat.
“The majority of these machines run on batteries and/or electricity. This may present a problem in the event of battery failure or a power outage. As a result, we replaced the battery with a hand-crank generator to enable manual operation in the event of an emergency or power outage,”
The workings
According to Ashish, the duo has always desired to create solutions for rural India. Both of them volunteered at Manashakti Research Center in Lonavala when they were younger, where they were required to volunteer for one hour daily. They desired to work on something that would enable them to practise social work full-time as a result of this experience.
Their entrepreneurial journey began with the creation of a human-powered generator to address rural areas’ electrical issues. Later, they founded Jeevtronics (Healthtech startup) and incorporated this mechanism into defibrillators to aid in the rescue of people experiencing cardiac arrests.
Dual powered bi-phasic defibrillator
Ashish reveals that SanMitra 1000 HCT is a hospital-grade defibrillator that has been designed in a way to operate both on electricity and on a hand-powered generator.
“Sudden cardiac arrest is such a dangerous condition that it can kill the patient in 10 minutes. At that time, a defibrillator is used to provide electric shocks to restore heartbeat and at that time, the hospitals will need rock solid electricity to ensure emergency care,” he says.
SanMitra, he claims, is the world’s first hand-crank defibrillator, and he adds that in the event of a power outage, medical personnel can immediately power the machine using a hand-crank generator. This is especially advantageous for hospitals located in rural areas where uninterrupted electricity may not be available.
Ashish asserts that SanMitra is extremely durable and capable of delivering up to 16,000 electric shocks.
Additionally, Jeevtronics (Healthtech startup) is deploying its equipment in COVID-19 hospitals. It received a soft loan from the Department of Science and Technology’s Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (DST CAWACH) last year to deploy its COVID-19 solutions.
“Studies indicate that approximately 16.7 percent of COVID-19 patients may develop arrhythmia, necessitating defibrillator support,” he adds.
Business and more
The Venture Centre-incubated and BIRAC-supported startup is seeking external funding as well as CSR support to ensure the product is distributed throughout the country.
In terms of business model, the co-founder explains that the startup is funded through the sale of its product. Ashish claims that the defibrillator is available for around Rs 1 lakh, which is about one-fourth the price of currently available defibrillator machines.
According to Ashish, approximately 187 installations have been completed to date. It is currently being used in a number of hospitals and COVID training centres throughout Maharashtra, including AIIMS Nagpur, CPR Hospital Kolhapur, Sassoon Hospital, and Manchar Sub District Hospital. Additionally, their device is used in Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan.
Apart from that, Jeevtronics has exported a few machines to Africa. “In the future, we hope to expand our presence in Africa and Southeast Asia,” he adds.
According to a report by IBEF, the Indian medical device market is expected to grow at a 37% compound annual growth rate to reach $50 billion by 2025.
Jeevtronics competes in the defibrillator manufacturing market with companies such as Phillips, BPL, ZOLL, and Schiller, among others.
Ashish discusses future plans, revealing that Jeevtronics recently had its ambulance-grade defibrillator tested in accordance with AIS-125 ambulance standards and is preparing to commercialise it soon. He states that this is India’s first ambulance-grade defibrillator and that it will be used for emergency treatment within the ambulance.
“We are also looking to expand our presence by partnering with distributors in India, Africa, and South Asia,” he adds.
