NIA Small Business Showcase: MapHabit, Inc.
There are 5.8 million people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, and this number will swell 194% to 13.8 million people by 2050. A total of $277 billion per year is spent on dementia care, and that number is expected to grow to $1 trillion per year by mid-century. Pharmaceutical companies have tried to develop treatments, but they have failed. The MapHabit System’s evidence-based behavioral approach is fast becoming recognized as the most important means for neurocognitive and therapeutic support.
The MapHabit System (MHS) is an adaptive user interface that dynamically adjusts for cognitive status and uses a multimodal approach to improve provider efficiency, which is constantly challenged during the fluid COVID-19 environment. By personalizing step-by-step instructions for both individuals and care providers, MHS provides a degree of assurance for families that their loved ones are better cared for. The company’s patented platform incorporates evidence-based best practices to improve care coordination, increase engagement, and improve overall quality of life at longevity-focused businesses.
MapHabit business-to-business (B2B) customer segments include adult living, home health, long-term care (LTC) insurers, health systems, and public/private payers. Businesses provide MapHabit as a covered benefit to their customers and achieve greater staff efficiency, lower customer acquisition costs, and improved care coordination.
Although there are key competitors in training, cognitive assessment, and care coordination domains, the MapHabit System stands out as the only system that allows caregivers the option to personalize a habit system through step-by-step guides. MapHabit was founded on evidence-based research, and this will be a core competency throughout the company’s growth. MapHabit has received numerous peer-reviewed awards by the NIH/NIA, and the company’s first-mover advantage using procedural memory will help MapHabit sustain its advantages.
Additional value drivers for different stakeholders include the following:
- Care providers: Fosters care coordination among vendors, improves staff safety and productivity, and reduces staff turnover
- Health systems: Reduces avoidable episodes and measures quality targets and incentives
- Traditional payers: Reduce hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits, monitors disease advancement (risk burden), and reduce costs of claims
- LTC insurers: Keeps beneficiaries healthier for longer and reduces the rate of new claims
Company Milestones
Scientific
- 2018: Use of brain neuroscience as a basis for developing the utility of visual maps, with a focus on the procedural brain system involved, skills, habits, and repetition
- October 2019: First-place winner (with a $250,000 award) in the NIH/NIA Improving Care for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Using Technology Challenge, or iCare-AD/ADRD Eureka Challenge
- 2019-2020: Presentations at national and international conferences, including those of the Alzheimer’s Association, the Dementia Action Alliance, the American Geriatrics Society (Presidential Poster), the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance (first-place poster award), and the 2020 NIA National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons with Dementia and Their Caregivers
- 2019-2020: Successful completion (positive outcomes in quality-of-life measures, independence, and cognitive function) of three five-month studies using MHS and involving residents with dementia and their caregivers at Holbrook Life senior living facilities, outpatient veterans with traumatic brain injury and resident geriatric veterans at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, individuals in Atlanta’s African American community living at home with dementia, and family caregivers
- 2020: Publication of a peer-reviewed research paper reporting findings from the senior living community (Boatman F, et al. Assistive technology: Visual mapping combined with mobile software can enhance quality of life and ability to carry out activities of daily living in individuals with impaired memory. Technology and Health Care. 2020;28(2):121-128. doi: 10.3233/THC-191980.)
- 2021: Publish three peer-reviewed publications; apply for additional NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR funding; collaborate on two rehabilitation research and development (R&D) grants with the VA Health Care System (VAHCS); complete ongoing feasibility studies and two randomized control trials
- H1 2022 (estimated): Execute against specific aims from public and private grant funding sources
- H2/2023 (estimated): Apply for a Class II Device clinical decision support (CDS) designation (510 [k] exempt)
Business
- May 2018: Incorporation of MapHabit
- August 2018: Initiation of market research and focus groups
- August 2018: First hire
- July 2019: Filing of a full patent application
- August 2019: Digital health and artificial intelligence/machine learning strategic partnership with HealthMode
- September 2019: Invitation into electronic health record technology partner PointClickCare’s prestigious business partner and developer program
- September 2019: Invitation to the United Nations to participate as a member of the Coalition for Better Health at Lower Cost
- October 2019: Beta testing of MapHabit software
- December 2019: Establishment of a formal business partnership with Holbrook Life Management to feature MapHabit for all Holbrook residents and staff (current enrollment: approximately 500)
- Quarter 1 (Q1) 2020: Signing on of additional commercial partners in home care, home health, and wellness/therapy practices (ongoing)
- April 2020: Development of opportunities for separate partnerships with the Atlanta Regional Commission and A.G. Rhodes using joint grant submissions
- May 2020: Receipt of notice of allowance for a provisional patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
- December 2020: Completion of the year with a $400,000 revenue
- February 2021 (estimated): Acquisition of BrainStim, LLC, a cognitive engagement platform with one year of constantly varied content for breathing, exercises, gratitude, and cognitive brain games
- October 2021: Acquisition of LiveWell Dementia Training, LLC, a dementia education methodology that focuses on whole person health for personalized wellness plans
- 2022: Achieve $1 million annual recurring revenue; expand into Managed Care Organizations and Long-Term Services and Supports
- 2023: Achieve $3 million annual recurring revenue; expand into integrated health systems and Medicare Advantage Plans
Financial Overview
Funds raised include:
- Startup grants from the Georgia Research Alliance ($107,000)
- NIH/NIA SBIR Phase 1 grant (two years, $1 million)
- First place in the NIH/NIA iCare-AD/ADRD Eureka Challenge ($250,000)
- Pre-seed funding round ($814,000)
- Seed funding round ($1,156,000)
- NIH/NIA SBIR Phase 2 grant (two years, $2.4M)
- Diversity Supplement for Phase 2 grant ($100K)
- NIH/NIA Fast Track (3 years, $2.9M)
Future funding (capital needs in the next one to five years and corresponding activities) includes:
- $8-10 million Series A funding in 2024
- Funds to be used for sales/marketing ramp-up, product development, and regulatory strategy
Intellectual Property
MapHabit has two patents awarded: 10,729,874 and 11,298,501.
Product Development and Regulatory Strategy
MapHabit’s software is available on both iOS and Android app stores. Once an account is set up, a user can access it on any mobile or tablet device. The company also has an Alexa skill that can link to the MapHabit account to alert users about their scheduled maps and provide the ability to play maps on command. The MapHabit provisioned tablet runs MapHabit in single-app mode and allows the team to apply fixes and remotely support users. The company is building a second product (MapHabit Rx — see below) that utilizes digital phenotyping and caregiver-inputted feedback to build predictive health models.
MapHabit’s clinical team has determined that there will be two separate pathways — one for the MHS assistive mapping system and another for MapHabit Rx, the system that comprises MHS plus predictive analytics. The company’s current software product is considered as “maintaining or encouraging a healthy lifestyle unrelated to the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, prevention, or treatment of a disease or condition.” Applicability within this definition leads to this functionality not being considered a device under Section 201(h) of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act. MHS alone can be used in a commercial setting and without the supervision of a health care provider.
MapHabit Rx, currently under development, will be a Class II Device CDS (510 [k] exempt). The company is positioning it as a computerized cognitive assessment aid containing cognitive status score cards, real-time alerts, and workflows to aid health care professionals in care path optimization.
Commercialization Strategy
MapHabit has commenced a commercial launch into lower-barrier-to-entry businesses: adult living, home care/therapy, and membership-based organizations. The company’s visual mapping system serves as a competitive differentiator and provides analytics back to each customer’s decision makers. MapHabit is also executing against multiple clinical studies to build the case for reimbursement. In H2 2021, the company will enter higher-barrier-to-entry segments, including payers and value-based health care systems for optimal continuity of care. In H2 2023, MapHabit will commercialize its digital therapeutic to open up additional revenue streams as a contract research organization and treatment optimization for pharmaceuticals.
Company Details
Atlanta, GA
Industry: Digital Health and Sensing Technologies
Management Team:
- Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer: Matt Golden
- Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer: Stuart Zola, Ph.D.
Point of Contact:
Matt Golden
Email Matt Golden
(914) 330-1776