Christine Hang, Chief Operating Officer of Flow MedTech, is our latest interviewee. She graduated from the Biomedical Engineering program at Georgia Tech, and was awarded the GT President’s Undergraduate Research Award. Her accolades with the team at Flow MedTech include being the winner of the 2014 GT Ideas to Serve Advanced Track Competition, finalists of the GT Biomedical Engineering Outstanding Entrepreneurial Award, semifinalists of the GT Startup Competition, and semifinalists of the GT InVenture Prize. Outside of company duties, Hang enjoys being involved in charity work, and her leadership has helped raised over $35,000 to veterans affairs, education, and cardiac care. She also enjoys playing classical piano. Here’s what she had to say…

How would you pitch your company? What’s your elevator pitch?

Currently, 15 million people globally have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. These patients have a fivefold increase in the risk of stroke due to a pouch off the heart, known as the left atrial appendage (LAA). The LAA is a breeding ground for clot formations that can travel to the brain, causing a stroke. Flow MedTech is developing a patent-protected medical device to significantly reduce the risk of stroke in millions of atrial fibrillation patients.

What sets you apart from competitors?

When conducting our customer discovery and market research with more than 100 cardiologists and industry members, the overwhelming feedback was the need for a customizable solution with a lowered complication rate. Based on this feedback, we built a customizable device built from a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-vetted material that displays lowered rates of tissue perforation, clot formations, and infection.

What’s your business model?

We are continuing to develop our technology and prove its safety and effectiveness. As we continue to build this data and further expand our IP portfolio, we will seek a strategic acquisition.

Can you share some numbers? How many users do you have?

We are currently in the R&D phase. Upon regulatory approvals, we can begin to commercialize or have a strategic partner to lead sales. We are creating a solution for the millions of atrial fibrillation patients suffering from a high risk of stroke and who do not have a suitable standard of care.

Where do you see the company going from here?

Our overall mission is to bring simplicity to the complexity of strokes. Currently, our short term goals are to show safety and effectiveness in models that mimic the human heart and to close our seed round of funding.

Where do you see the mHealth industry going?

Since Flow MedTech’s goal is stroke prevention, preventative medicine is of key interest to us. We have recognized that sensor technology has been gaining attention in the medical community. The predictive and preventative capabilities of sensors seem limitless. Additionally, the industry seems to be trending towards personalized and quicker patient care. Patients will soon have options to be diagnosed and triaged wherever and whenever at their convenience.

How long are we from seeing modern mHealth technologies going mainstream?

With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reducing regulatory requirements for many mobile medical devices and with healthcare continuing to grow towards lowered costs and increased quality of care, mHealth technologies will become more attractive to buyers. Large companies have realized this opportunity and are developing mHealth sensor technologies, which are a strong indicator of market potential. In addition, consumer enthusiasm and demand for mHealth is on the rise, seen particularly in the advances of wearables made by large tech companies.