When Alexander Singh’s younger brother underwent spinal fusion surgery to correct his scoliosis, it was a painful case of history repeating itself. Years earlier, his mother received the same invasive surgery.
A student at the University of Virginia at the time, Alexander Singh felt called to action.
“I’m getting a degree in biomedical engineering,” he said in a recent Zoom interview. “I can’t just sit around and watch people suffer from this surgery and not do anything about it.”
And so Minimally Invasive Spinal Technology, LLC — MIST for short — was born.
MIST is developing software to fix what Singh said are less-than-exact diagnostic capabilities that often lead to unnecessary spinal fusion surgery. The company’s software uses machine learning and computer vision to create a predictive algorithm, reducing the error range for diagnosis. Greater diagnostic accuracy, Singh believes, will lead physicians to direct more patients toward preventive care, rather than surgery.
“Using that kind of predictive ability allows us to tell physicians whether or not someone will need surgery down the road,” Singh said.
MIST was accepted into the fall 2020 Lighthouse Labs cohort, and Singh credited the Richmond accelerator experience with helping them streamline their approach and focus on their target market: insurance companies.
“The value proposition here is that by reducing the error range, we can save the amount of money that payers have to pay for scoliosis surgery,” Singh said.
The Lighthouse Labs accelerator, produced in collaboration with the Health Innovation Consortium and VCU Health, also gave MIST important connections and mentorship opportunities, Singh said.
A busy 2021 lies ahead, and securing grant funding is a top focus. In late 2020, MIST applied for a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I grant. Currently, the official company address is Virginia Beach, but once grant funding is secured, Singh plans to base the company in Richmond or Charlottesville.
The startup is also applying to additional accelerator programs and plans to raise a seed round in mid-2021, Singh said.
With a minimum viable product (MVP) of their software, MIST is finalizing user interfaces and HIPAA compliance. Applying for FDA approval is also on the early 2021 to-do list.
As for Singh’s brother, recovery from the 2017 surgery took about a year, but he’s now doing well. He’s watching MIST’s growth with interest, Singh said. And, he noted, following the surgery, his younger brother is now taller than he is.