DyCare: Safe and remote rehabilitation

To treat musculoskeletal disorders physical therapy is often essential to help patients suffering from chronic pain. But following a patient’s progress in physical therapy can be difficult without a matching tool. To improve rehabilitation and further personalize treatment, DyCare developed a digital rehabilitation platform called ReHub.

In the interview with MEDICA-tradefair.com, DyCare CEO Silvia Raga explains where the idea for the start-up came from and how the solution can further enhance telerehabilitation.

Where does the idea for your product come from?

Silvia Raga: The idea was born from a personal experience that happened to my partner, Ricardo, and me. After receiving several face-to-face physiotherapy sessions, we realized that there was a lack of tools to objectively follow the patient's progress. This led to the creation of our first Lynx device, which years later evolved into a digital rehabilitation platform, ReHub, which provides safe and effective remote rehabilitation.

What problem do you want to address with it?

Raga: Musculoskeletal disorders affect 1.7 B people in the world. By 2050, 8 out of 10 people will suffer from chronic disease, with an exponential need for physical therapy. The current healthcare system is highly dependent on specialized human resources, costly, and not scalable. ReHub® is a B2B Digital Rehabilitation solution that delivers effective, personalized home rehabilitation. Through our solution, we make rehabilitation more available to all and reduce treatment costs and waiting lists.

At which stage in your development are you now?

Raga: ReHub is CE marked and clinically validated, it is trusted by prestigious hospitals, physiotherapy centers, and insurance companies in Spain and South America. It is currently used by more than 600 centers, and more than 7,000 patients have accelerated their recovery with ReHub.

What was the biggest obstacle during the foundation of your company?

Raga: The biggest obstacle was the time it takes to be able to market a medical device. A significant amount of capital must be available for years before a medical device can be marketed. In addition, there are regulatory barriers in each country, even within the EU, each country has its own regulations, which makes it very difficult.

What were you worried about most before founding the company?

Raga: We were aware that innovation requires educating the market and this involves a lot of money, effort, and time. The Covid-19 pandemic has driven innovation in healthcare and accelerated the adoption of digital solutions. I believe it has helped many start-ups to overcome this important barrier of educating professionals and patients.

What was your best decision until now?

Raga: Always believing in my team and focusing on telerehabilitation long before the Covid-19 era has given us an important advantage over all our competitors.

How do you assess the opportunities for start-ups in the medical market in your country?

Raga: Spain is a country that is investing a lot in innovation and is particularly active in attracting health technology companies. There are a number of centers, accelerators, and incubators in different parts of Spain that offer opportunities for entrepreneurs. The healthcare sector, in particular, has a good level of digitization of its services and healthcare providers such as hospitals, clinics or health insurance companies are open to collaborating with start-ups and implementing new solutions.

What advice would you give future start-ups in the medical market?

Raga: Constantly validate your products and developments with health professionals before launching the product on the market, as it requires a lot of investment of money.

Please describe the medical technology industry in three words.

Raga: Booming, highly competitive, digital shift

What are your plans for the next two years?

Raga: To be the leader in Spain and dominate the European and South America markets.