Local Speakers Discuss Pioneering Technology to Connect Patients with World-Class Spine Care
With over 72 million Americans suffering from chronic low back pain, it’s no wonder that spine pain and disability are costing businesses trillions. To help combat this and learn how the future of spine care medicine can be dramatically improved by artificial intelligence (AI) and personal patient coaching, we hosted a Roundtable: Pioneering Technology to Instantly Connect Patients with World-Class Spine Care to discuss just that.
Over 65 attendees gathered at Bridgeside to enjoy an evening of networking, complimentary drinks and catering, and even a dance performance by Yulia Zhukoff and Koichiro Suzuki (Chewy) of PGH Tango Connection.
First starting out on the fifth floor patio overlooking the Hot Metal Bridge and Southside Works, the scenic backdrop was the perfect setting for guests to mix and mingle before being ushered into the conference room for the main event.
After the two beautiful tango numbers, none other than Victoria Chuah, a ballet dancer and recently-crowned Miss Virginia (and competing for Miss America in December!), took the stage to welcome everyone and thank the event sponsors, The University Financing Foundation (TUFF) and Collaborative Real Estate, for making such a wonderful evening possible.
Next, she shared a brief video introducing APEX Health, an app that uses AI and 3D motion capture technology to track movements and correct bad posture to prevent an injury before it becomes a problem.
That’s when Kunal Gandhi, CEO of APEX Health, took the stage. Kunal, who is also a published author in stem cell biology and was named one of the top five founders under 25 in the Pittsburgh Business Times, shared some brief history about the company, what they’re currently working on, and of course, what the app does.
Starting out first as a fitness and AI trainer as SimpL in 2018, the company evolved to EZPT in 2021, where they were helping physical therapy become more accessible to people through platforms like TikTok. Today, they are APEX Health, which “empowers clinicians to improve and expand access to musculoskeletal care. We use innovative and cutting-edge 3D motion capture technology that blends computer vision AI with neuroscience. We are on a mission to bridge the gap between in-person and virtual care, through seamless integration and a human-centered design. We believe patients should be able to access best-in-class musculoskeletal care anytime, anywhere.”
APEX is also starting their clinical study with Dr. Arnold Milstein and Rothman Orthopedics at Stanford Medicine. Kunal explains, “What we’re looking to show is that we can reduce low back pain more quickly through patient engagement in a clinician-led telemedicine protocol. A lot of telemedicine to date have given patients access to content and technology, but we really believe that clinicians should be leading the charge when it comes to treating a patient.”
In terms of specifics, one of the features of the APEX app and platform is implementing programs into warehouse cameras where there are workers present (places like Amazon fulfillment centers). Using the security cameras the warehouses already have installed, the app creates a “Personal Performance Companion” which views the workers’ range of motion to assess and prevent injuries before they happen. Another thing APEX can help with is filling the gap between care providers and patients. APEX can track a user’s movements during a workout, game, or dance practice and use the data to report to their clinician to make recommendations for changes to prevent injury.
But don’t just take Kunal’s word on it – other speakers took the stage that evening to share their personal involvement with APEX, why the technology is revolutionary, and how it's going to change how we think about healthcare and digital health.
Joining the stage next was Harris Ferris, Former Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and Certified Hanna Somatic Educator. Harris talked about the importance of companies like APEX in regard to ballet dancers, mentioning that being able to help dancers with preventative measures before a serious or career-ending injury is extremely beneficial, health-wise, and cost-effective – not only for the dancer, but the dance company.
Emily Rager, National Director, Market Access – IDN Strategy and Business Development, Cognoa, spoke next about athletes and sports medicine. According to her, you can use the app to track rehab and pre-hab, share notes from the physical therapist with a surgeon, and ultimately streamline the process of physical therapy, surgery, caregiving, etc.
“Data doesn’t lie, but you can’t report what you’re not measuring,” stated Dr. Chris Bise, Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Pittsburgh. He continued, “Via APEX, we now have a proactive mechanism to track data in patients that have both normal movement and abnormal movement patterns. Typically, when an injury occurs, we wait to address the dysfunction. With APEX, we can report in real time the data from those movements with a simple smartphone.”
On the opposite side of the spectrum was Steve Putterman, FSA, MAAA, Partner, Mercer Health. “I deal with the healthcare side of the equation,” he remarked. “And the healthcare people don’t usually talk to the risk people, which is unfortunate, because they need to be more connected. APEX is looking to make the connection between providers, payers, and patients.”
Colleen Murphy, Consultant and Owner, Chadvisory, added additional color to the consumer side of healthcare, discussing the changes that were brought about because of COVID-19. “We're talking about a system of care – providers, hospitals and insurers – and they're struggling right now,” she revealed. “Coming out of the pandemic, the consumer has different expectations today because of our phones, companies like Amazon, and having easy access to things quickly online. Now there is a willingness to interact with the consumer differently and digital health apps like APEX are helping bridge that gap between provider and consumer.”
Of course, the incredible insight shared by the panelists weren’t the only learnings from that evening. We also discovered the following from our attendees:
The evening wrapped up with a few closing remarks from Kunal: “This is just the beginning, we're going to keep the community together and keep growing and really make an impact on patients lives around the world.”
