A clinically validated solution for fall prevention and gait rehabilitation from Israeli med-tech startup GaitBetter is now eligible for Medicare and Medicare Advantage reimbursement in 12 US states (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado) and Washington, D.C.
The American healthcare system spends around $60 billion annually on medical treatments relating to falls. Some 30 percent of people aged 65+ experience at least one fall each year. About 20% of fall cases result in injuries requiring medical treatment.
The GaitBetter motor-cognitive training system has been shown to reduce the risk of falling by up to 80 percent, alongside significant improvements in cognitive and motor functions weakened by injury, illness or age.
Using a virtual reality environment, the training program simulates daily walking at various difficulty levels while incorporating motor and cognitive challenges. AI technology tracks the patient’s foot movements on the treadmill and integrates leg movements in real-time virtual.
The program is personalized for each user, and includes overcoming virtual obstacles such as curbs and stairs, dealing with distractions, navigating based on memory, making decisions while walking, and more.
The system also is used for gait rehabilitation in patients with Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, head and spinal cord injuries, back surgeries, and knee or hip replacements.
Studies have found a close correlation between walking abilities and executive functions such as multitasking, short-term memory, spatial scanning and attention.
These cognitive abilities, and it has been found that combined motor-cognitive training positively affects them, improves walking abilities, and dramatically reduces the risk of falls among the elderly. Studies have found that the GaitBetter system has led to a decrease of up to 80% in the number of falls.
A portfolio company of eHealth Ventures, GaitBetter was founded in 2018 by Hilik Harari, CEO, and Idan Abukassis, COO, based on technology developed at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center by Prof. Anat Mirelman and Prof. Jeff Hausdorff, heads of the hospital’s Gait and Mobility Research Center, with Prof. Nir Giladi, chief of neurology.
The company has offices in Israel and the United States and raised $3.6 million.
GaitBetter systems are installed in more than 120 facilities, including three of the top 10 rehabilitation hospitals in the United States, and many other healthcare facilities.
“We anticipate a significant increase in demand for the company’s products following the approval of the new billing code,” said Harari.
“In the American healthcare system, primarily based on a ‘fee-for-service’ model, obtaining a billing code and payment recognition by leading insurance organizations is essential for market penetration and successful growth.”
Talor Sax, Managing Partner at eHealth Ventures, added, “It’s clear why Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans would be willing to cover this best-in-class treatment, spending less on treatment instead of more on expensive procedures that are required to rehabilitate a patient after a fall.”
Produced in association with ISRAEL21c