Seattle-based Dopl Technologies has innovated a telerobotic ultrasound solution aimed at extending specialist medical services to rural populations.
Striving to bridge the gap for rural patients who often travel great distances to access specialist care predominantly available in urban centers, Dopl Technologies has a stated mission.
Last month, the innovative efforts of the company were recognized as it claimed victory at the 2024 Flywheel Investment Conference held in Wenatchee, Wash., earning a $150,000 investment from the Flywheel Angel Network.
The technological marvel, a robotic arm, facilitates ultrasound diagnostics in remote locations, manageable from afar by skilled sonographers. This is exemplified through a video demonstration featuring Dopl co-founder and CEO Ryan James undergoing a chest ultrasound on Whidbey Island, Wash., remotely operated by co-founder and COO Steve Seslar from Bellevue, Wash., located 55 miles away.
Within a span of nearly two years since founding, Dopl highlights the potential of their technology to enhance care accessibility, improve patient health outcomes, and offer financial benefits to healthcare facilities through revenue growth and cost reduction.
Prior to co-founding Dopl, James accumulated four years of experience as a software engineer at Microsoft and was a key figure in launching Pear Medical, a venture emerging from the University of Washington that harnesses augmented and virtual reality to transform medical scans into interactive 3D models. James is also a University of Washington PhD graduate in biomedical and health informatics.
Joining Seslar in Dopl’s executive suite, another cardiology expert with a rich educational background from Georgetown and Harvard and over a decade of teaching experience at the University of Washington. Wayne Monsky, the third co-founder, brings his expertise as an interventional radiologist with 20 years of practice, also boasting credentials from Georgetown and Harvard, and teaches at the UW Medical Center.
Dopl’s client base includes hospitals installing the revolutionary system to offer ultrasound examinations locally. James emphasizes the company’s current emphasis on customer understanding over rapid growth.
Detailing the company’s operational strategy, James mentions, “Currently, we dispatch traveling ultrasound experts to rural healthcare facilities for conventional in-person diagnostics. Anticipating FDA approval next year, our plan is to transition these services to remote, telerobotic ultrasound examinations.”
James equates this operational shift to the transitional business model of Netflix, from DVD shipments to digital streaming.
Highlighting a recent development, James shared news of a partnership with T-Mobile, leveraging its 5G network to facilitate mobile and potentially transportable healthcare solutions, widening the scope of Dopl’s service delivery capabilities even further.
Dopl Technologies finds itself navigating a competitive landscape that comprises traditional ultrasound providers in urban settings, AI-driven assistive technologies, and other telerobotic ventures, including the international-focused AdEchoTech, as per James’s analysis.
With a workforce of five, Dopl has successfully raised over $800,000 from several investors including Techstars, Seattle Angel Conference, Flywheel, Dream Variation Ventures, and an assembly of angel investors.
