Feedback has raised recently £2M for post-IPO equity. We talked with Tom Oakley, its CEO.
PetaCrunch: How would you describe Feedback in a single tweet?
Tom Oakley: Feedback is a medical imaging technology specialist. We’ve developed Bleepa, a secure encrypted medical communication app for clinicians that enables quick and efficient messaging between team members as well as sharing of medical grade imaging wherever the clinicians are.
PC: How did it all start and why?
TO: Feedback has been listed on the Stock Exchange for over 20 years. Its recent focus has been on its proprietary technologies, TexRAD and Cadran. TexRAD is a quantitative texture analysis tool for diagnostic radiological scans and is currently installed in over 50 of the world’s leading research institutions. Cadran provides a suite of medical imaging tools based around a picture archiving communication system (PACS) to provide decision support for scan analysis, diagnostic workstations and products to securely share and transport patient data.
Earlier this year, I joined Feedback as CEO. My background is as an NHS radiologist and NHS England Entrepreneur Fellow so I was acutely aware of the current challenges within the NHS and what solutions might be needed to improve patient care. A BMJ Innovations paper revealed that 97% of NHS doctors regularly use WhatsApp to discuss patient care and share patient data. Not only does this have implications for GDPR, but the images that are being shared through WhatsApp are often a phone picture of an image such as an x-ray or scan, which should absolutely not be being used to give clinical advice or make decisions. When I looked at Feedback’s technology I could see the potential to build something really exciting that might solve a genuine clinical problem. Cadran’s patient data and image sharing component was very strong, so we built a messaging capability around that, and Bleepa was born.
PC: What have you achieved so far?
TO: Following a strategic review of the Company, we decided to focus on developing this new medical standard messaging product, Bleepa™. It is a secure, encrypted medical communication app for clinicians that will enables rapid messaging and the review of medical grade imaging by all members of a clinical team, regardless of where they are located. This helps them to make efficient and more accurate treatment decisions and share patient images and data in a legally compliant way, using an app that fits seamlessly with a hospital’s existing PACS and data management system. We believe that Bleepa™ will be the first medical communication tool to be a CE-marked medical device and we’re very very excited about the potential for it both within the NHS and further afield.
PC: How will you use your recent funding round?
TO: We raised £2m in our recent funding round which is intended for three main purposes:
- To complete the commercial development and fully launch Bleepa™
- To build a sales and support team to market Bleepa™ and bring users on board
- Also for general working capital
PC: What do you plan to achieve in the next 2-3 years?
TO: I’d love to see Bleepa™ become the established clinical messaging tool used in multiple hospitals across the country. Though NHS procurement can be a long process, I believe we have developed a product that we will be able to save clinicians enough time and improve patient outcomes so that hospitals come on board quite quickly. We really can help solve what is a ticking time bomb of unmonitored WhatsApp use and the risk of sharing patient data and making clinical decisions based on non-clinical standard imaging. In 2-3 years’ time I’d also like to see some international sales and the potential roll out of Bleepa to areas of the world with fewer resources, where it could make a huge difference to patients and clinicians’ lives.
