Sarah Elizabeth Doherty, who likes to identify herself as an engineer and entrepreneur, adventure-seeker and music-maker, twin and neon-enthusiast, has devoted her life to eliminating the world’s healthcare access crisis. Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, the 2010 alum of the University of Pennsylvania co-founded TeleHealthRobotics, a tele-robotic healthcare platform, which allows a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional stationed anywhere in the world to provide on-demand, direct-to-consumer, real-time medical services to a patient stationed within TeleHealthRobotics’ kiosk, without the aid of onsite personnel.
Sarah has recently visited to Bangladesh to join 'Shape South Asia 2018,' a four-day conference, organized by Dhaka Hub of Global Shapers Community- an initiative of the World Economic Forum and talked with Weekend Tribune about the evolution of TeleHealthRobotics, its relevance to Bangladesh, among a number of related topics.
Tell us about your journey with TeleHealthRobotics. How did you come up with the idea of creating a telerobotic healthcare platform?According to a study by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, 400 million people around the world don’t have access to critical health services. What’s more, those with access are often tipped into (or pushed further into) poverty due to exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses from medical care. Resolving these crises of limited access and high cost were main motivators for us.
Simultaneously, my co-founder and I saw an exciting technological convergence developing. Robotic systems were becoming orders of magnitude less expensive to make, sensing systems were becoming highly capable of characterizing an environment and telepresence systems were becoming widely available and widely used. We believed the coincidence of these advances could make it such that delivering healthcare remotely via robotics could be done safely and effectively even without trained personnel on site with a patient. Enabling a remote pool of providers to execute care at a distance could address both the cost and access issues that initially motivated us in this work.
400 million people around the world don’t have access to critical health services
How do you evaluate Bangladesh as a client for a TeleHealthRobotics? Do you think such a model will work considering the local socio-economic context of Bangladesh?In a fast growing country like Bangladesh the need for technologies that make most efficient use of health workers time, enable them to reach the most people and allow for import of skilled expertise to fill in the access gaps are crucial. Like most developing economies, Bangladesh has constraints related to broadband and electrical connectivity and digital and health literacy. That said, the country is far exceeding its goal related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, some of them related to these exact issues. I believe the will of the population here to improve outcomes in healthcare (and beyond), combined with the speed of development taking place could make Bangladesh a viable location for telerobotic-enabled medicine.
Photo: Bigstock What are the possible roles TeleHealthRobotics can play in the public health sector of Bangladesh?Our initial product focus with THR is on ultrasound. Ultrasound can be used for imaging of the heart, vascular system, abdomen and uterus. The tool can be used for prevention, detection and diagnosis of disease as well as for guidance of invasive tools during surgery.
From a public health standpoint, I imagine heart and uterine imaging for prevention, detection and diagnosis of disease would be most useful in Bangladesh.
Where do you see the telerobotic healthcare industry in 50 years? Medicine is changing at a supersonic pace. We can’t fathom the mechanisms by which it will be delivered 50 years from now - it’s possible nothing resembling them has even been thought up yet. That said, I believe, generally the future of healthcare consists of two major evolutions from the status quo: ever present interaction with your health and virtual provisioning of expertise.
Currently people predominantly think about their health when they are headed to get medical care and that’s usually when they are sick. Ideally increased mechanisms and locations by which to interact with one’s health would empower individuals to check in with their status frequently, better enabling preventative and curative services. A person might, for example, have an opportunity to check their heart health in their workplace, get a physical exam at their community center or gym and get their blood tested at the pharmacy.
At the moment, a person’s geography (and by consequence, often their privilege) dictate their access to medical care, especially specialized services. I believe technology has the power to virtualize the global healthcare provider pool, making it such that people and medical workers can connect and execute exams regardless of either’s location, making more democratic and efficient use of both parties’ time. A provider in London can deliver care to a patient in Dhaka and then Nairobi and then Minneapolis in sequence without leaving his desk.
We believe telerobotics can enable these two evolutions, hopefully in the much shorter term than 50 years. That said, regulation of care execution across borders remains a limiting factor.
Being an entrepreneur on her way to make an impact, what advice and tips do you have for budding women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh and around the world?An entrepreneurial work (and life!)-style isn’t for everyone. And, there are many impactful ways to drive innovation. Check in with yourself. What are your interests, as well as strengths and weaknesses, and how might they best be served? Are you well-suited to entrepreneurial activities on your own or to intrapreneurial activities, eg innovating or driving growth within a business or organization started by someone else?
Once you’ve done this self-reflection, and if you’ve decided you’re suited to entrepreneurial work, make sure you’ve identified a “bleeding from the neck” problem. An issue that your future customer needs solved as badly as a person bleeding from the neck needs a bandage. Then, the key elements of starting the business are made easier - investors will better understand why they should invest, (the right) team members will come more easily on board, and eventual adoption of the product will be more rapid.
An entrepreneurial work (and life!)-style isn’t for everyone. And, there are many impactful ways to drive innovation
And finally, go for it! Industry experience and education are a plus, but it’s hard to prepare for the rapid adaptation and growth required of an entrepreneur. There’s no greater enablement to success than passion to solve a problem and you can be assured that if you’ve thought through the above you’re taking a calculated risk!
Once you are out in the world starting your business, make sure to set aside time for relationship-building. It will be as important to your company’s growth as product development and customer adoption. You’ll need people looking out for you personally and professionally as well as for your business. These relationships will be your source of accountability, perspective and rocket fuel!
Any interesting stories/memories or observation you made during your trip in Bangladesh?My trip to Bangladesh was my first to South Asia. It was at once inspiring and unsettling. The hustle here is real - it’s clear that every person feels (and takes on, to whatever extent they can) the imperative to grow the economy and welcome foreigners that can help grow it as well. Every individual I met from Dhaka to Sylhet was eager and warm, generously engaging me in your vibrant cultural, triumphant history and bustling economy.
The conviction, hope and heart it takes to work towards prosperity you have not yet known while currently in a resource-constrained, and often times vulnerable, position are immeasurable. And yet, they can all be felt so clearly here. I was rocked to the core by the fortitude of this country’s people and awed by, what could no doubt be characterized as the collective entrepreneurial spirit of nation-building! I have no doubt that the passion I witnessed here will serve to continue this country’s upward sprint toward remarkable success.
Separately, particular highlights for me were witnessing the beauty and joyous celebration of the Bengali New Year, exploring the serene Baikka Beel wetlands, learning about the impactful work of BRAC, bKash and the Toru Institute for Inclusive Innovation and setting my taste buds on fire with delicious, and incredibly spicy, meals.
Photo: Bigstock What are the possible roles TeleHealthRobotics can play in the public health sector of Bangladesh?Our initial product focus with THR is on ultrasound. Ultrasound can be used for imaging of the heart, vascular system, abdomen and uterus. The tool can be used for prevention, detection and diagnosis of disease as well as for guidance of invasive tools during surgery.
From a public health standpoint, I imagine heart and uterine imaging for prevention, detection and diagnosis of disease would be most useful in Bangladesh.Where do you see the telerobotic healthcare industry in 50 years? Medicine is changing at a supersonic pace. We can’t fathom the mechanisms by which it will be delivered 50 years from now - it’s possible nothing resembling them has even been thought up yet. That said, I believe, generally the future of healthcare consists of two major evolutions from the status quo: ever present interaction with your health and virtual provisioning of expertise.
Currently people predominantly think about their health when they are headed to get medical care and that’s usually when they are sick. Ideally increased mechanisms and locations by which to interact with one’s health would empower individuals to check in with their status frequently, better enabling preventative and curative services. A person might, for example, have an opportunity to check their heart health in their workplace, get a physical exam at their community center or gym and get their blood tested at the pharmacy.
At the moment, a person’s geography (and by consequence, often their privilege) dictate their access to medical care, especially specialized services. I believe technology has the power to virtualize the global healthcare provider pool, making it such that people and medical workers can connect and execute exams regardless of either’s location, making more democratic and efficient use of both parties’ time. A provider in London can deliver care to a patient in Dhaka and then Nairobi and then Minneapolis in sequence without leaving his desk.
We believe telerobotics can enable these two evolutions, hopefully in the much shorter term than 50 years. That said, regulation of care execution across borders remains a limiting factor.Being an entrepreneur on her way to make an impact, what advice and tips do you have for budding women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh and around the world?An entrepreneurial work (and life!)-style isn’t for everyone. And, there are many impactful ways to drive innovation. Check in with yourself. What are your interests, as well as strengths and weaknesses, and how might they best be served? Are you well-suited to entrepreneurial activities on your own or to intrapreneurial activities, eg innovating or driving growth within a business or organization started by someone else?
Once you’ve done this self-reflection, and if you’ve decided you’re suited to entrepreneurial work, make sure you’ve identified a “bleeding from the neck” problem. An issue that your future customer needs solved as badly as a person bleeding from the neck needs a bandage. Then, the key elements of starting the business are made easier - investors will better understand why they should invest, (the right) team members will come more easily on board, and eventual adoption of the product will be more rapid.