Predictmedix wants to be market leader in workplace health and safety as its coronavirus symptom detecting tech gains momentum

Every now and again, the stars seem to align for a company as it begins its growth story. This appears to be the case for healthcare tech group Predictmedix (CSE:PMED) (OTCQB:PMEDF), which went public in December last year, and aims to be a market leader in the workplace health and safety (H&S) space - a sector where tech solutions have been largely absent until now. Having developed an innovative platform using mass-screening and artificial intelligence (AI) to collect data, Predictmedix was (and still is) mainly focused on drug impairment - in other words, identifying someone who is under the influence of alcohol or cannabis. But then as we all know; a global pandemic came along and the Predictmedix team quickly realised they could also use the same multi-spectral imaging and AI methods to identify coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms. People walk through modules (like a tunnel) linked to cloud software and within fractions of second a green or red light appears, identifying those who are exhibiting symptoms. You can imagine how many offices and workplaces and other places may want to get their hands on such a device. Speaking to Proactive, Dr Rahul Kushwah, co-founder and chief operating officer (COO), explained how the company has realised how important its technology could become as a triage (assessment ) tool for businesses and public spaces. "It's about turning places into safe environments, especially now, because as we are realizing that there is no end in sight to the pandemic, we cannot be shut down forever," he says.  "We have to open up. It's about ensuring symptomatic individuals don't come in." The firm's technology is focused broadly on four areas - impairment, infectious disease, mental health and remote patient monitoring / telehealth. Kushwah says the market opportunity across this spectrum is enormous - up to an eye-watering US$300 billion. He says the group's sales pipeline is already quite advanced and he is hopeful that this year is going to be great for his company. "...we are quite excited in terms of how things have progressed so far and really this is just the start for us," says Kushwah, who added the firm and its reseller partners were getting enquiries from organisations all over the US and Canada. "We and our partners are working with quite a few Fortune 500 companies and are also in discussions with government officials in several parts of the world," he says, adding that the firm is the only one delivering technology which is addressing the key pressing issues faced by workplaces. To underscore the traction the firm is already getting, IN August , it announced in a statement that its coronavirus (COVID-19) screening technology, along with its alcohol and impairment tech, was set to be deployed at Fortune 117 company Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (NSE:IOC), which had revenue last year of over US85 billion. It is also rolling out the coronavirus screening tech at the Flow Water facility in Ontario and at a 24-hour pharmacy in Montreal. The deployment at Flow Water’s Aurora facility comes as part of Predictmedix’s contract with North American exhibit fabricating firm Juiceworks Exhibits. Also in July this year, notably Predictmedix struck a potentially game-changing  sales deal with UK-based distributor Taurus Medical Solutions for a 12 month contract, beginning on July 6, with an option for renewal if a certain number of clients come onboard. Kushwah had said Taurus's "large and diverse client base" in the UK, along with their relationship with the NHS, offered a "great opportunity to roll out our technologies in the healthcare sector in the UK". Predictmedix was co-founded by Kushwah, a former Professor at the University of Ottawa's medical school and a scientist with the government of Canada (National Research Council) turned entrepreneur, and capital markets specialist Sheldon Kales who is a serial entrepreneur and has led the transition of several companies from private space to public trading. It was formerly known as Cultivar Holdings Inc, which listed in Canada last year, and was based around impairment detection technology and had pre-licenses to grow cannabis in Jamaica. The focus then shifted towards screening for cannabis impairment and the Jamaican asset was divested and the rest, as they say, is history. The reason why Predictmedix is attracting such interest,  for its impairment technology, is because although other companies have developed breathalysers, which can detect THC, they are not addressing impairment. But, because it looks at so many factors based on clinical data on impairment, the firm's tech can prove this, explains Kushwah. The group also has technology to create treatment programs specially tailored for patients, which expands Predictmedix into telehealth and telemedicine along with remote patient monitoring - an area becoming increasingly important, especially in this COVID-19 dominated world. So, the potential for expansion and the possibility that businesses and organisations could use one or a range of Predictmedix's offerings, is clear. Kushwah envisions being able to offer a suite of enterprise solutions to HR departments and others. It seems this small company, with a market cap of C$74 million, could be at the right place at the right time with the right offering. One to watch in a changing world..