John Shanahan, Firebird Medical
Company Overview
Firebird was established by John and Camelia Shanahan, two former employees of BSN Medical Ltd. where they developed orthopaedic devices for over 12 years. Graduates of Tipperary Institute’s Software Engineering Degree program, they have a burning ambition to use technology to improve lives. They identified unmet needs in the area of falls detection and took up the challenge of developing and marketing a better Falls Management System. Market validation provided excellent feedback and the product is now on the path to commercialisation.
The promoters feel that by establishing strategic partnerships Firebird Medical has the potential to become an important player in the “Remote Patient Monitoring Market” thereby building a sustainable, knowledge economy business based right here in the mid-west region of Ireland. All the ingredients are available: a can-do attitude, a sensible regulatory environment, access to markets, a growing culture of innovation and R&D.
Product Overview
Help is at hand for the many thousands who suffer a fall each year. FIREBIRD Medical Ltd. have developed SmartHipTM the world’s first truly mobile personal Fall detection system. Research has shown that getting help quickly after a fall reduces the risk of hospitalisation by 26%. The consequences can be devastating for the 1 in 3 people over the age of 65 suffering a fall each year. Already a major burden on health systems the population profile in almost every developed country indicates that numbers will double in the next 20 to 30 years. SmartHipTM is currently undergoing trials and should be commercially available next year. It is a discrete user friendly device which automatically notifies the family or carer in the event of a fall. False-alarms which are the main drawback of existing products are eliminated through advanced sensor design.
Of the serious injuries that result from falls, hip fracture is the most common. 4,000 hip fractures are currently treated in Ireland each year (75,000 in UK) and studies show significantly improved recovery rates when the patient receives help within one hour of the fall occurring.
CONTACT DETAILS
John Shanahan
Firebird Medical
Unit A8, InnovationWorks2,
Tipperary Technology Park Thurles,
Co.Tipperary,
IRELAND
Tel: 0504 22859
Mobile: 087 2675146
Website: www.firebirdmedical.com
