Rubitection, an AgeTech Collaborative™ startup participant, offers caregivers a new platform for managing and monitoring chronic skin conditions such as diabetic foot ulcers, bedsores, eczema and psoriasis. The system includes an easy-to-use care management software that integrates with a handheld device, empowering clinicians, family members — or anyone with minimal training — to use a data-driven approach to assessing skin for the early identification and progression of bedsores, vascular leg ulcers and other chronic wounds and serious dermatological conditions.
We sat down with CEO Sanna Gaspard, PhD, to talk about the company, the transformative nature of its solution and the company’s new investment initiative.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
What is Rubitection all about?
We’re on a mission to transform caregiving, both professionally and at home, by providing an artificial intelligence-powered care management and assessment platform for chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, and venous leg ulcers, and for chronic dermatological conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and acne.
If preventable wounds like bedsores and diabetic foot ulcers become infected, they can become chronic and fester for years, and they can even be lethal — they kill up to 60,000 people each year.
Yet, while family members of someone who’s had a heart attack, for example, might well be concerned about that person’s primary health condition, they might not understand that that person is also now at risk for developing chronic skin breakdown, which can lead to a serious open wound. They often don’t understand the protocol for preventing and managing these wounds, which can be complicated, or even how to assess the skin to identify the onset of a wound.
We’re simplifying the whole process to make it easy and data driven so that caregivers can get the support they need to manage that care. Initially, we’re working with hospitals and nursing homes, and our long-term vision is to also make it simple for caregivers at home to provide that same level of care at an affordable price.
How does your solution work?
Remember in the old days how doctors would measure and assess someone’s temperature by putting their hand on your forehead? That approach was eventually transformed with technology with the use of thermometers. At Rubitection, we’re trying to transform care in a similar way with regard to assessing changes in the skin for wound development and progression. Right now, the standard of care requires clinicians to use their eyes and their fingers to identify and assess changes in the skin, even for things such as acne rosacea and skin cancer. We want to fix that and make it more accurate.
Our platform, the Rubitect Assessment System, provides a custom device and software application that makes physical, quantitative measurements of the skin, such as its temperature and severity of inflammation. The Rubitect Assessment System also allows caregivers to take an image of the skin, and our custom software can process those images to extract important health-related information. With all that data, we can tell caregivers whether the skin is healthy or not, whether a wound is present, or whether the skin is at risk of developing a severe wound, and we can provide data-driven care management support.
What was the catalyst for founding Rubitection?
Rubitection’s platform is the product of my PhD research at Carnegie Mellon University. I wanted to make sure that my thesis work, developing a tool for skin health assessment, was focused on something that was actionable and real, something that could really impact patient care — not just a doctoral thesis that would sit on a shelf and be forgotten. For that to be true, I had to make sure I was addressing a real-world problem in healthcare. I wanted to select a problem that was common and that was a financial burden. Through one of my engineering professors, I discovered that this is not just a common problem in all healthcare settings, but that it’s also a very expensive one.
I was also surprised to discover that there’s a disparity created for people of color regarding wound care, due to the limitations of the manual test on dark skin tones. Because skin assessments are typically done visually, any signs that a wound was developing on darker skin tones were hard to identify, leading to delayed treatment and severe wounds. And once the wound becomes severe — tissue loss down to the bone — it becomes more dangerous and very expensive to treat.
What’s next on the horizon for Rubtection?
I am really excited about Rubitection’s progress and our future. We are addressing a large problem with an easy-to-use patented technology. We are engaging with clinical partners and with other potential partners who are excited about our technology.
We’ve raised some money from investors, and we are trying to reach more investors to grow the company and realize more milestones, such as additional tech development, engaging with regulators and optimizing our partnerships to take things to the next level.
Often, when I present at conferences, people will approach me and say, “I have a loved one that has been impacted by this problem. We were so concerned and did not know what to do. This is very important work. I would love to get involved or help.” We are now offering a path for everyday people to get tangibly involved with Rubitection with our very own crowdfunding initiative, through which we’re able to offer anyone an opportunity to be part of our success — even if they can only write relatively small checks compared to the big investors. I am excited to be able to share this opportunity to be a part of our success with anyone who has been affected by the problem, or anyone who simply believes in our mission of improving healthcare through technology and addressing health disparities.
When you say “crowdfunding” — are you talking about a donation, or an actual investment in the company?
It’s an actual investment in Rubitection so people who believe in our mission can share financially in our success. Once someone makes an investment, they will own a small part of the company, just like the larger investment firms or our current investors.
Find out more about Rubitection at their website, and learn more about their crowdfunding initiative here.
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