Cutting Down on Medical Waste with AI: AssistIQ Raises $2.5 Million

AssistIQ is a medical technology startup that has developed a new artificial intelligence platform aimed at reducing medical waste created by hospitals. In late 2022, AssistIQ raised $2.5 million CAD in early-stage funding, which the startup plans to use for product development and expansion into new hospitals.

AssistIQ’s new technology targets the excessive use of disposable hospital supplies, which is harmful not only to the environment, but also to a hospital’s bottom line – disposable medical supplies and devices make up the largest variable cost a hospital must deal with after wages. 

The startup’s artificial intelligence platform works in a series of ways, notably by tracking all disposable supplies (without reliance on barcodes or radio-frequency identification tags) and by uncovering opportunities to optimize supplies and reduce costs without affecting the quality of patient care. The data collected by the platform allows healthcare professionals to determine what supplies truly need to be opened prior to a procedure. Further, the platform improves procurement efficiency by allowing employees to adjust ordering volumes to reflect what is actually being used. 

Given the ever-increasing costs involved in running a healthcare facility, hospitals today are looking to improve overall efficiency and reduce their waste. Investors are keenly aware of this, as demonstrated by AssistIQ’s recent funding round.