As per the latest reports, Onera, a Dutch startup headquartered in Eindhoven has recently received a seed investment from Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschapij (BOM), a Dutch development agency and imex.expand, imec’s venturing program.
Onera is an imec spin-off aimed at bringing innovative medical devices to improve the health and quality of life of people suffering from ailments all over the world. So the latest investment will enable it to focus on its mission of developing a fully disposable, wearable, medically graded sleep diagnostic device.
Onera’s mission is to address sleep disorders
Onera was founded in 2017, with the mission to give every patient suffering from sleep disorder a disposable, wearable and patch-based device that will diagnose sleep related ailments right in the comfort of their home.
The co-founder Ruben de Francisco stated that people suffering from sleep disorders have been undiagnosed due to lack of a reliable alternative to the inconvenient and expensive diagnostic tools those exist right now. The medical community has been waiting for such a product, which will make sleep diagnosis accessible to many without compromising on quality.
Onera will leverage imec’s expertise
Imec is known for spinning off promising and successful research results and technology into startups. The president and CEO at imec, Luc Van den hove, states that Onera is one such startup. He is optimistic that Onera will leverage the expertise of imec to bring about innovative sleep diagnostic solutions that the healthcare industry seeks. He further added that imec will support Onera to turn their technology into a disruptive healthcare application.
Why home sleep tests are preferred?
Home sleep tests, as the name indicates, are taken at the comfort of the patient’s home. The user comes into the sleep clinic to pick up the diagnostic device and is given a demo on how to use the device properly. The test can be performed by the patient and the data will be stored on the machine, which will be analyzed at the sleep clinic later. On the contrary, the in-lab sleep study needs the patient to come to the clinic for an overnight diagnosis. Eventually, the home sleep tests are convenient and preferred by many. This is where Onera wants to take the lead.
Digital health sleep device makers are in the boom
The sleep diagnostic market reports suggest that the makers of digital health sleep devices are getting popular. The focus is shifting towards home testing, claim the researchers. Especially, home sleep testing is becoming popular in Europe with a higher percentage of people opting the same.
Challenges are a part of the revolution
The development of such a sleep diagnostic tool does come with its own challenges. The major challenges include the increasing healthcare cost and the shortage of staff, claims business developer at BOM Brabant Ventures, Stephan Hulsbergen.
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Picture credits: Shutterstock/By Gorodenkoff
