Tessa Wagenaar

From 14/08/2023 to 16/02/2024

Paired Teams

SplendoMonitor

Temple University

Tessa is a Software and AI Developer at Splendo, focusing on developing the Splendo Timeseries AI platform and advancing Splendo Health products in the USA. Over three years, she has contributed significantly to the development of the Splendo AI TimeSeries Platform using Google Cloud services. Tessa’s background includes impactful roles as a Research Intern at The Netherlands Cancer Institute and Teaching Assistant at the University of Amsterdam, showcasing her passion for health care and technology.

Purpose:

The project aim is to make Cardiorespiratory Fitness/VO2 max assessments accessible, affordable and efficient in remote settings. Traditionally, fitness assessments are conducted using a CardioPulmonary Exercise Test (CPET). This CPET test requires a lab environment and specialized personnel to administer the test and process the results. With SplendoHealth we aim to replicate the results of the CPET test using our SplendoMonitor sensor platform, wearable sensors and a 6-minute step test protocol. With this combination of sensors and the 6-minute step test protocol we can take a fitness assessment at any place.

Challenge:

The primary challenges are access and education. Access to CPET assessment is limited to a dedicated lab or hospital, stationary equipment, trained technicians and time. While VO₂ Max is a very important indicator of fitness and health, not many people know about it or how to use it. Using CRF assessments, we can take the guesswork out of determining a person’s fitness level. This is very important when someone is going for elective surgery for example, since the fitness level before going into surgery is an important determining factor of the outcome of the surgery.

Market potential:

Currently, the availability of CRF assessments is very limited. For quantifiable results you need to do a Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test (CPET), which can only be done in a lab or hospital setting with specialised equipment and personnel. SplendoHealth aims to make CRF assessments accessible to the general public and allow sports teams to save time doing CRF assessments, while simultaneously giving doctors a better way to determine a patient’s fitness without having to rely on questionnaires or expensive and time consuming testing.

As part of the NGI Enrichers expedition we have been able to expand and solidify our network on the east coast of the US. Especially with Temple SBDC and ENRICH in the USA, with whom we have applied for several grants and even been selected for the Regional NSF I-Corps Propelus program. This program helped us further define our customer archetypes and examine some of the ways in which our product can be useful for our target demographic.

Furthermore, we have been looking at applying to further grants together with Temple SBDC to further strengthen our collaboration and Splendo Health’s presence in the greater Philadelphia area.

By working on the results of the project as described above, we expect Splendo Health to have an impact on multiple areas.

Market research

As part of our collaboration we have been part of the Regional NSF I-Corps Propelus program. In this program we did customer discovery interviews and learned to test our hypothesis based on interviews with potential customer groups. We were able to validate most of our assumptions, but had some interesting insights as well from these open conversations.

Strengthening innovation collaboration with the US

With our collaboration with Temple SBDC and ENRICH in the USA we bring Dutch innovation to the US. Our ongoing collaboration with Temple and ENRICH allows us to continue the development of the Splendo Health product and work together to bring these new technologies to the US.

Building solid connections and partnerships in Europe and in the US

The project funded by NGI enrichers allowed us to strengthen our collaboration with Temple and make connections with stakeholders and potential partners in the area. Without a presence in the area these connections would have been much harder to make and maintain.