• Stockholm a frontrunner in m-health

Last November, Stockholm-based Kiwok’s CEO Stefan Holmström conducted an unusual field study to test its mobile heart monitoring system BodyKom in a tough environment. He plugged himself into the system -- which enables doctors and care personnel to receive the ECG of heart patients via the mobile network -- while running the New York Marathon.

"My time was not that impressive (5 hours and 23 minutes) but the transmission worked perfectly to our servers in Arlanda, Stockholm", he wrote in a letter to staff.

Global demand for mobile healthcare products is expanding rapidly and Holmström believes the company, founded in 2003, has the potential to be an "important player in the global market".

In a move to meet demand and strengthen its financial resources, the company now aims to raise 20 million kronor ($3.1 million) in a share issue during the first quarter of 2011, and plans an IPO in the autumn.

"The money will be used for our global rollout and Nordic expansion. We will launch our system in India and Canada this year", Stefan Holmström told The Swedish Wire, adding that the Indian launch is already underway, and that the Canadian introduction is planned in connection with the flotation.

The company is also looking to break into the US market, and recently got the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application for BodyKom approved there. The US market is expected to expand rapidly as Barack Obama's healthcare reform bill clearly supports the use of wireless health technology for chronic disease management.

A US launch would acquire additional capital injections or a partnership with an American company, Holmström said.

After posting a loss of 6.9 million kronor in 2010, the company is expected to recover with positive cash flow in 2011 and profitability in 2012.

BodyKom has been developed in collaboration with Karolinska University Hospital, whose heart patients have benne using the system since last autumn.

After testing the BodyKom at the New York Marathon, do you have any other challenges in mind for the system?
"Absolutely. We will use it at the Vasa ski race to see how it works in cold conditions", Holmström said.

Quick facts:
• There are currently some 150 million people in the Western world who require heart monitoring, but only 10 percent of them are monitored using traditional ECG. By offering a mobile solution, a significantly higher number of individuals could be monitored.

• Kiwok estimates that the total potential market for remote ECG monitoring currently amounts to 9.5 million units, corresponding to a market value of more than 50 billion euro.
Source: World Health Organisation / Kiwok

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This article was published in collaboration with Stockholm Business Region.

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