Our Community: Mindsigns Health

We’re lucky to work with an incredible portfolio of clients across a wide range of industries at Accela in our communications, finance & corporate secretary and talent verticals. In this latest “Our Community” feature, we’re catching up with Michel Birnbaum, CEO and Co-Founder of Mindsigns Health™ to learn more about what the company does and their experience operating in Singapore.

Can you share a quick overview of Mindsigns Health™?

Mindsigns Health™ is a platform company focused on brain health, specifically EEG interpretation and analysis as well as mental health monitoring and analysis. We develop secure products to monitor brain health, improve the patient journey, and empower the doctor-patient relationship.

We use real world data to power the automated interpretation and analysis of EEG signals in clinical and ambulatory environments and the remote monitoring of mental health disorders using audio and visual digital biomarkers.

Our products are HIPAA compliant and ISO 27000 series compliant evidence-based digital tools developed to assist healthcare providers, caregivers and patients achieve a better delivery of care through improved access and reduced health inequity and in time better outcomes.

The company has offices across the world - when and why did Mindsigns launch in Singapore?

Mindsigns Health™ is a Nanyang Technological University spin-off created in late 2019 but officially started operations in April 2020. We chose Singapore as a launchpad not only because many of our team members have strong ties to Singapore, whether local or foreign, but also because some of our clinical collaborations are based out of Singapore. Moreover, we get to take advantage of the stable political landscape, access to a global talent pool, as well as the existing technology infrastructure that Singapore has established from the ground up. Singapore is the gateway to the rest of Asia and a good launching pad.

Can you tell us about some of the key initiatives you’re currently focusing on in Singapore?

We’ve partnered up with leading health and educational institutions in Singapore to run clinical validations as well as further develop our brain and mental health products. In terms of local talent development, we have hired full-time staff and interns based out of Singapore.

What do you see as the future of your industry? 

We see advances in the mental and brain health industry every single day. Currently, however, there are little capabilities to enable the shift of healthcare services from acute/traditional care to remote/at home settings. We are committed to bridging that gap and providing the clinician as well as the patient with a continuum of care. Additionally, with more companies focusing on this space, we believe that there must be more attention paid to privacy and security, which is our top concern as we develop our products given the patients that we deal with.

What challenges or benefits have you seen from operating in Singapore?

Operating in Singapore, we have been lucky to be able to work with such a diverse and talented team. For a digital health company like Mindsigns Health™, it is important to have  a strong infrastructure given the amounts of data being processed in the cloud. It was straightforward to set up shop here without the need to worry much about operational or administrative issues such as setting up a bank account, leasing an office, or even setting up the phone lines. Singapore’s healthcare system is a good proving ground for testing and validating healthcare products and offerings. A particular challenge is being able to raise funding for a startup like ours that not only interfaces with patients or at-risk individuals but also clinicians and does have some regulatory requirements.

As a big part of our market is in the US and Europe, however, we do have to set aside time and resources to focus on potential partnerships in those parts of the world. Do keep in mind that there is a significant time difference between those markets and Singapore, so it’ll be a challenge for sure to coordinate meetings across time zones. Furthermore, there is a need to have some face to face interactions with potential customers especially in healthcare.

Tell us about your experience working with Accela Group.
We have used Accela’s services in order to be more efficient and productive in managing corporate secretary, accounting and reporting requirements. Accela understands how to work with young companies and what is required by these emerging growth entities. We have also used Accela to obtain employment and dependent passes for some of our team members. Their understanding of local labour laws and constraints has been invaluable in navigating a challenging and evolving landscape.