By Nancy Dahlberg
Doesn’t it seem like everyone around us is getting sick? Why can’t we predict our chances of catching the flu or developing a migraine? There’s now an app for that.
SickPredict, developed by a South Florida startup, claims to be the first mobile app to use the Apple Watch and iPhone to predict illness before symptoms appear.
During the early days of the pandemic, founder and CEO Joshua Salman first thought about building an algorithm around the reams of data that the Apple Watch collects to give people a “SickNumber” personalized to their own health metrics.
Then he was motivated to move ahead with development by research from Scripps, Stanford and Harvard showing that wearables could indicate people are getting sick hours or days before their symptoms show up, said Salman, in an interview with Refresh Miami.
His Plantation-based startup soft-launched in 2021. SickPredict uses biosensors and AI to read health data such as active energy, body temperature, oxygen saturation, how many steps we’re taking, and what our speed patterns are and then assigns users a personal daily SickNumber every day at 10 am. A number between 1 and 4 is the green zone and low risk, 5 to 7 is the yellow zone (medium risk), and with an 8 to 10 number you’re in the red zone – and have the highest risk of getting sick in the next 24 to 48 hours. On the day of this interview, Salman said his number was 3.4, nothing to worry about.
SickPredict also sends real-time notifications if baseline biometrics significantly change so you can take action, Salman explained. It’s not a substitute for a healthcare professional of course but numbers in the yellow zone signals the user that it’s time to keep an eye on it. and you can enter your temperature readings, too. In the red zone? It may be time to contact your doctor and/or quarantine from friends and family.
One of SickPredict’s users had a condition that could result in blood clots. She was notified 36 hours early that something was off with her health when her SickNumber shot up to 10 and she avoided an expensive hospital stay, Salman said. SickPredict also heard from users who said their number went up before they tested positive for Covid as well as before they got a migraine, among other illnesses.
“This is the future of personalized medicine. This is where we’re heading. Prevention is the holy grail,” said Salman, a healthcare industry veteran who founded Global Insurance Management in 2002 and sold it in 2018.
There are unlimited applications for this predictive technology in healthcare, including as preventative tools that could be aligned with wellness programs, health plans, etc., he said. “The elderly population is another really strong place for us. And healthcare professionals can do a daily checker to see how they’re doing before going into work and exposing patients.”
After the launch in 2021, a wave of TV news reports helped to take SickPredict from 0 to 5,000 downloads very quickly. Usage has continued to grow on the 5-star rated app, but last year the team paused marketing to continue to improve the app based on user feedback, Salman said.
“We are more focused on the algorithm right now and making it even more accurate. We just launched a new version that is highly independent of a lot of the control that Apple used to have over us. Now we have the ability to on our own keep calculating by pulling our own data so we are very reliable to our customers.”
SickPredict offers a one-week free trial and then charges $3.99 a month or $29 for a year, the discounted option most users choose. As of now, users must have an Apple Watch and iPhone to use the app. “I really wanted to help as many people as we could as fast as we could but with a valid, reliable product and that’s why we waited as long as we did to launch it, but that’s also why it’s so inexpensive,” Salman explained.
SickPredict has a prominent spokeswoman: Former TV news anchor Laurie Jennings, who also happens to be Salman’s wife.
“It’s just been a lot of fun working with her on this project, developing it during that timeframe [2020] where we were sitting around with our kids at home and trying to figure out what’s going on the world and how we can help,” Salman said. “This started off as a passion project.”
Salman also has a business partner with deep technical experience, and a tech team of contractors who have been working with SickPredict from the start.
For 2023, the focus is on adding a B2B2C model. Salman hopes to add partners, such as a telemedicine company, that SickPredict could integrate into the app. Another focus will be firing up digital marketing to get the message out and raising investor capital to take SickPredict to another level.
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Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg and email her at ndahlbergbiz@gmail.com
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