Everyone deserves access to high-quality healthcare. And Ashva Wearable Technologies Pvt Ltd (Ashva) is dedicated to making to make this a reality by envisioning a new world where the best of the best musculoskeletal healthcare is decentralized and democratized to all. Such a vision, conceived not even 4 years back, is now a strong community of data-driven physiotherapy clinics, hospitals and patients.

The company’s flagship product, fitknees is an AI-enabled motion sensor-based system that generates detailed data analytics reports after every assessment, thus providing actionable insights into the progress of knee therapy. To complement fitknees, fitmust is yet another product that delivers isometric muscle strength testing (MMT) to add value to the clinical practice. Enabling physiotherapy data-driven, through such affordable and seamlessly integrate wearable technologies, could be a first step towards democratizing musculoskeletal healthcare

In an interview with Insights Care, Anmol Saxena, the CEO shares the journey of Ashva that will continue to thrive and make a positive impact on the field of musculoskeletal healthcare.

Following are the excerpts from the interview:

Kindly tell us the source of inspiration. What led you to venture into the health wearable Industry?

During my weight loss journey, I took up running and climbing stairs. However, due to my lack of knowledge about safe joint loading, I injured my knees at the young age of 21 and was unable to walk for more than 10-15 minutes without severe pain in my hips and knees.

My struggle was compounded by the fact that my mother had also suffered from osteoarthritis in both knees and had undergone physiotherapy for years.

Despite these setbacks, I was determined to find a solution to prevent others from experiencing the same physical pain. That is when the idea for Fitknees was born. My mission was to create technology that could analyze movements during physical activity, providing insights and guidance on safe, effective exercise. This was the key reason why I chose wearables over other technology options like computer vision and robotics.

Brief us about yourself and shed some light on your role and responsibility at the company.

My educational background includes a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from VIT Vellore. Throughout my studies, I developed a passion for Product Design and Management through various hackathons, college clubs, and projects. This led me to a position as a Product Design Engineer at Ford Motors Company, where I gained valuable experience in product development processes, manufacturing, and quality as an Audio Infotainment Systems Engineer.

After 1.5 years at Ford, I decided to leave the MNC and pursue my venture. In 2019, I founded Ashva intending to decentralize and democratize musculoskeletal healthcare for all. After two years of research and prototyping, Fitknees, our flagship product, was taken to clinical trials. Fitknees can detect a range of parameters related to knee health, including a range of motion, static balance, risk of falling, walking patterns, and proprioception.

To complement Fitknees, we also developed Fitmust to quantify muscle strength. We have successfully launched our products and have sold over 60 units to date.

Now, with a strong second line of leaders in place, my journey has become a little easier, and I am confident that Ashva will continue to thrive and make a positive impact on the field of musculoskeletal healthcare.

What are the mission, vision, and values shared by the company?

Ashva’s vision is to build a world where musculoskeletal healthcare is decentralized and democratized to all. We believe that everyone deserves access to high-quality healthcare, and we strive to make this a reality for all those who need it.

Our mission today is to make physiotherapy data-driven. We are doing so through affordable and seamlessly integrate wearable technologies.

Our core values are :

1. Patient-centred design philosophy
2. Affordability, precision, and product quality are non-negotiable at Ashva
3. Simplicity drives all we do – problem-solving, product design, and our regular work.

Tell us about the core products and services that the company offers to support the healthcare needs of the patients.

Ashva is a healthcare technology company that offers a range of products and services to support the needs of patients. Our flagship products, Fitknees and Fitmust, provide comprehensive knee health testing and analysis, including a range of motion, static balance, risk of falling, gait analysis, varus-valgus alignments during dynamic activities and more, along with muscle strength quantification.

Fitknees is a system comprising 4 motion sensors strapped to the thigh and shin of the patients, a clinician’s tablet with our proprietary ML-based software and a cloud backend for the generation of data analytics reports.

At the end of a 20 mins movement sequence in seated, standing, walking and staircase climbing positions, Fitknees generates a detailed data analytics report outlining the abnormalities in the parameters by comparing the patient’s test results to normative ranges. This allows the clinician to create a baseline at the start of the treatment and monitor progress over some time.

Fitmust is a handheld device to quantify the muscle strength of upper and lower limbs, including wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee and ankles.

What specific R&D operations is your company leading at present? Why do you find them essential in developing or improving healthcare solutions?

Ashva is leading several specialized R&D operations to develop innovative healthcare solutions. Our in-house capabilities include electronics design, product design, AI/ML engineering, and app development. All of these technologies have been developed and patented by Ashva, making us a leader in the industry both in India and internationally.

At Ashva, we believe that these R&D efforts are crucial to keeping solving the complex problems of modern times and addressing the existing challenges of the healthcare ecosystem.

Furthermore, we strive to save costs and increase the efficiency of healthcare for all the stakeholders and this can only be achieved through new and innovative solutions.

What endeavours is the company currently pursuing to improve its service measures for the clients?

Currently, the company is undertaking several initiatives to enhance our services and meet the evolving needs of our clients. Some of these endeavors include:

• Investment in technology: Ashva is investing in the latest technologies to streamline processes, improve tech usage, and enhance data security and privacy.
• Client-focused research: We conduct ongoing research to better understand the needs and preferences of joint injury patients and clinicians, and to identify ways to enhance our technologies to better meet those needs.
• We have a WhatsApp-based community for all our customers (physiotherapists and orthopaedic doctors) where we openly take feedback from our customers and provide support and resolutions. This gives us a chance to prove our responsiveness to our customers and establishes an equal stake of our customers with our brand.
• Employee training and development: Ashva is providing ongoing training and development opportunities to our employees, to ensure that they are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to provide exceptional technologies and services to our customers.
• Collaboration and engagement: Ashva is actively engaging with our clients to gather feedback and insights, and to build strong, long-lasting relationships based on mutual trust and respect.

How do you envision scaling the company’s services and operations in 2023 and beyond? 

Our goal for 2023 is to partner with 150 orthopaedic and physiotherapy clinics, laying the foundation for US FDA compliance in 2024 and unlocking a 100 Crores INR international business opportunity.

Our company is actively working to integrate software features such as running and return-to-sports analytics, to help professional and amateur athletes avoid knee and foot injuries.

Our mission for 2024 is to establish Ashva as a leader in the global healthcare industry, recognized for superior quality and scientifically-backed solutions at an accessible price point. We are dedicated to driving the advancement of Indian healthcare products on the world stage.

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