In the vast healthcare space, a seismic shift is underway. Aptly dubbed Healthcare 4.0, this paradigmatic transformation signifies an emerging intersection of cutting-edge medical advancements with an enshrined commitment to streamline the patient experience. Central to Healthcare 4.0 is the shift from a hospital-centered model to one that prioritizes patient-centric care, regardless of location. Calling for the creation of braided technologies from multiple industries to boost patient outcomes, Healthcare 4.0 not only augments traditional medical frameworks but also makes remote care delivery possible, ensuring healthcare guidance reaches patients wherever they may be.
Highlighted by McKinsey & Company in a 2024 report, in which the authors note, “we estimate that healthcare profit pools will grow at a 7 percent CAGR, from $583 billion in 2022 to $819 billion in 2027,” the healthcare sector continues to expand substantially year over year, making the emerging Healthcare 4.0 paradigm that much more significant.
Named a 2024 Innovation By Design Award Honoree by Fast Company Magazine, a healthcare technology platform that made the list of the year’s most groundbreaking inventions may be well-positioned to accelerate Healthcare 4.0 as we know it. The heralded technology from California-headquartered Xenco Medical is aptly named The TrabeculeX Continuum. The convergent innovation marks the first time a technology links surgical biomaterial implantation with post-operative digital recovery therapies for remote care. As a braided technology intertwining regenerative medicine with digital health, it signifies a watershed moment in Healthcare 4.0 and its promise of unifying multiple technologies into singular, patient-centric solutions that bring the hospital to the home.
We asked Xenco Medical Founder and CEO Jason Haider five questions on the background, functionality, and implications of the company’s interdisciplinary technology.
Could you fill us in on the motivation that drove the development of the TrabeculeX Continuum?
Haider: Absolutely. We wanted to develop a technology that reflected the true, prolonged course of a patient’s recovery and the tissue regeneration timescale. To achieve that, we engineered the TrabeculeX Continuum to unify the intraoperative and postoperative phases of orthopedic surgery through a bridge from biomaterial implantation to digital physical therapy.
When we designed our technology, we wanted to both approach patients as partners in the recovery journey, rather than depersonalized pathologies, as well as to synergistically leverage the impact of mechanotransduction in triggering osteogenesis to amplify the regenerative activity of our biomaterial.
After biomaterial implantation, each patient-specific rehabilitation plan is delivered through the App and is calibrated by the treating surgeons by monitoring their patients’ pain scores, adherence metrics, and their AI-driven posture and functional motion assessments to maximize the extent to which transcriptional responses are stimulated in response to applied loads.
Is there a measurable impact on surgical outcomes?
Haider: Without question. It’s been established for some time now that post-operative physical therapy significantly influences the success of spine surgery outcomes. I know that there was a meta-analysis published just last year in the Archives of Physiotherapy that found that post-operative rehabilitation led to an improvement in physical function and a reduction in pain levels compared to standard care.
The two issues we wanted to tackle through technology, though, were adherence and cascaded regeneration. In terms of adherence, it’s been established scientifically that patients would be well-served to follow these protocols. Still, the difficulty has been patient compliance and visibility by the treating surgeons. By bridging our biomaterials with our remote therapeutic monitoring technology in one platform, we could offer a truly longitudinal intervention that ensured these benefits would be enjoyed by all patients implanted with our biomaterials.
In terms of cascaded regeneration, the performance of patient-specific physical rehabilitation exercises is instrumental in inducing the release of growth factors such as Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). By including an AI-powered physical rehabilitation platform to continue the intervention from implantation through recovery, we were able to better ensure regeneration that cascades from one phase of a patient’s stage of recovery into the next.
The braiding of remote therapeutic monitoring into an orthobiologic solution is fascinating. Could you tell me a little more about the biomaterial half?
Haider: Definitely. Though our bridge that includes remote therapeutic monitoring empowers surgeons to partner with their patients during recovery, it was critical that our regenerative biomaterial, the TrabeculeX Bioactive Matrix, was just as effective in conducting best-in-class bone remodeling after implantation.
During the research and development phase, the approach that emerged as the path forward was to attempt to create a kind of microscopic symphony in which bioactive glass, composite beta-tricalcium phosphate, and collagen worked in concert to conduct osteoblast and osteoclast activity in three dimensions. We were thrilled when we realized that we had been able to orchestrate the kind of osteoconductive concert we had hoped for throughout what’s referred to as the RANKL/RANK/OPG signaling pathway.”
Could this technology have a social impact beyond the clinical impact it is already making?
Haider: That’s a great question. There is absolutely a social dimension to this as well. A great study that goes into detail about how critical of a social issue this can be is “Racial Disparities in Post-discharge Healthcare Utilization after Trauma,” which identified socio-cultural barriers and eroded trust between minority patients and physical therapy providers as some of the leading causes of this inequity. Our hope is that having a digital rehabilitation component to our biomaterial platform with over 1600 exercises will empower all patients to adhere to their prescribed protocols from the comfort of their own homes.
What about healthcare costs more broadly? Is the benefit more for the patient, or is there a system-wide effect as well?
Haider: There definitely is a system-wide benefit, to use your turn of phrase. Any form of remote therapeutic monitoring pays dividends to treating healthcare facilities because a reduction in hospital readmission rates translates into cost savings. The proactivity inherent in remote therapeutic monitoring enables healthcare providers to track mobility before any issues necessitate readmissions. The ability to offer that kind of foresight was a key factor in our development of the TrabeculeX Continuum.
Final Reflections
Capable of being defined as a future where patient-centered, intelligence-driven networks of care are the standard, the essence of Healthcare 4.0 is rooted in interdisciplinary solutions that can weave together isolated instances into interconnected tapestries of care. By spanning from the surgical instance of orthobiologic implantation to the entire course of virtual physical rehabilitation, Xenco Medical’s digitally-enabled orthobiologic is a compelling technological emblem of this growing movement. With Healthcare 4.0 accelerating into inevitable ubiquity, it will be fascinating to see how a future of interconnected care takes form beyond orthopedics.
