Cardiova Health’s origin began when Dr. Matthew Brown, a cardiology fellow from Emory University, recognized that the Covid-19 pandemic changed the way that most clinical care was offered from in-person to telehealth visits. However, while telemedicine was expanding, virtual appointments were still limited to discussing patient history and visually inspecting patients. The inability to collect accurate diagnostic vitals over telehealth appointments limited the capabilities of telehealth.

Realizing this problem, Dr. Brown teamed up with a group of Georgia Tech Biomedical Engineering undergraduates starting their senior capstone project. After additional research, the team recognized that the two most important diagnostic measurements that should be collected during a physical exam were auscultation and electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythm, which were not being collected by many physicians over telehealth.

They decided to develop a combined digital stethoscope and ECG that worked seamlessly over telehealth applications called the AusculBand. To help protect their intellectual property, Dr. Brown and the team partnered with Emory University in April 2021 to file a provisional patent for the AusuclBand and are now submitting a non-provisional patent application.

After presenting at the Spring 2021 Georgia Tech Capstone Expo, the team applied for and won the NIBIB National DEBUT Venture Prize. Elated by this accomplishment and realizing the growing market opportunity, the team formed Cardiova Health LLC. Since forming the company, they have won several other awards and grants including the VentureWell E-Teams Stage 1 Grant and 2nd Place at the Stu-Clark New Venture Championship (Graduate Edition).

Now nearing one year since presenting at the Georgia Tech Capstone Expo, Dr. Brown and the team are working towards IRB approval and Phase 1 GRA funding with the goal of conducting a feasibility study. Down the line, the team hopes to complete an FDA study and commercialize their technology.  

The team would also like to recognize all of those who have supported them over the last year including James Rains, Olaf Schulz and the Epicenter Innovation Lab team, Harold Solomon, Dr. Lorenzo Di Francesco, Bram Frankel, and David Curd.