The Munich-based startup Visionhealth helps patients with chronic lung disease use their inhalation therapy more effectively. The young company has developed a digital, AI-supported solution that allows patients to better use their inhalers using only their smartphone and the 'Kata' app.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourself and your product!
Our credo: If you're going to work all day, you can at least do something good. With Kata, we—a team of nine enthusiasts—have developed a digital solution to support treatment for patients with chronic respiratory diseases. It may not sound very sexy at first, but the need is huge: Millions of people in Germany suffer from asthma or a chronic lung disease (also known as COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)—in Europe and the US, the number is estimated at around 235 million.
And that's exactly who we're helping—initially with an app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make therapy more effective. It provides feedback on the correct use of inhalers and patients' inhalation maneuvers, without the need for a local medical expert or remote diagnosis. This is how we support therapy—digitally, for the time between doctor visits. And we plan to expand this beyond the app later.
Behind the idea is our dual leadership: founder Sabine Häußermann and managing director Philipp Kroneberg. Together, the bioengineer with a doctorate and a medical engineering degree bring 25 years of experience and more than ten years of close collaboration in the field of healthcare and innovation management and can now finally realize their joint idea.
An app that makes inhalation measurable and assessable
2. But that has been around for a long time!
Of course, we're not reinventing the wheel. But we're doing something truly unique: There's no other purely digital product that can measure and evaluate the inhalation process. Certainly not just with the help of a smartphone. With us, the patient receives direct feedback without the need for additional hardware, which in such cases often doesn't work for every inhaled medication.
Our digital therapy support solution follows a continuous therapy approach. From training to regular feedback, from statistics to an informative wiki, from reminder and diary functions to future special features for support persons—Kata covers an incredibly broad spectrum of issues in the field of respiratory therapy.
Intrinsic motivation, solid network and money
3. What are the three main ingredients for your recipe for success?
As passionate foodies, we at Vision Health Of course, everyone knows the recipe by heart: A dash of expertise, because you should never underestimate what a team with concentrated know-how and a lot of intrinsic motivation can achieve. A pinch of support (or two) from a solid network—our advisory board of patients and doctors plays a huge role for us. And ultimately, money is often the final straw. So you see: Whether it's the team, partners, or investors—the faces behind an idea make the difference.
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
We are currently conducting a user observation study with 60 patients with asthma and COPD to optimize the app's usability and the functionality of the AI. Initial interim analyses show very good results—so far, 1,001,145,200 patients are willing to recommend Kata. Furthermore, Kata has been available to all patients for iOS and Android since the beginning of the month under 'Kata — your inhalation aid.'
5. What does Munich mean to you?
For us, Munich means our (adopted) home, an innovation center in Bavaria, a good network of other developers, traffic jams, a solid startup network, and fresh input from the students at the Technical University of Munich. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel like it offers quite as much as Berlin, but home is home.
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
Through hard work, perseverance, and a lot of fun. The best time to be a vision health professional is now. Because the technology is finally here, and we've been at it for a long time anyway.
7. Isar or English Garden?
Of course the Isar — it also flows to Garching, where we Gate have our office.
