Digital health startup Hinge Health raised $8 million in a Series A round to support its musculoskeletal disorder prevention and treatment technology.
Funding in the round was led by European VC Atomico and joined by existing seed investors including Eleven Two Capital and the Vertical Group, according to VentureBeat.
The San Francisco-based company’s tech, which operates around a series of wearable sensors, a smart-tablet and applications, looks to combat lower-back and joint pain. Hinge Health claims that lower-back and joint pain cost as much as $100 billion per year in the US alone, and that musculoskeletal disorders are a top medical expenditure for employers.
The company’s health kit contains 2 Hinge bands, which feature embedded emotion sensors, a smart tablet and stand already featuring the company’s software and necessary accessories, according to VentureBeat.
The system is used in a 12-week program, which the company says is “coach-led”, to correct problems which lead to MSK disorders. The system also features cognitive behavioral therapy.
Hinge Health is focusing on employer-sponsored health care plans currently, at a price tag of approximately $1,195 per patient, according to the VB report. The company said it is working with approximately 100,000 individuals currently, and that it has completed a randomized clinical trial of the tech.
“Most chronic conditions have clear clinical guidelines underpinned by a solid evidence base. However, these guidelines are often not followed because it is too onerous for the patient and doctor. Lower back pain and knee arthritis are prime examples, where non-surgical guidelines are not followed. The result is that patients are shunted onto opiates and eventually surgery. Our vision is to improve the scale, experience, and ultimately outcomes for patients by using technology to better deliver evidence-based care, with MSK as our 1st beachhead,” co-founder & CEO Daniel Perez told VentureBeat.
