Riva Health

Riva Health is developing a digital health platform focused on cardiovascular disease, initially targeting hypertension. The company was co-founded by Dag Kittlaus, who also co-founded Siri and Viv, and Tuhin Sinha, a biomedical engineer. Sinha's personal experience with his father's early death from heart disease fueled his mission to improve heart health monitoring and management.

The core of Riva Health's offering is a mobile application that uses a smartphone's camera and flash to measure blood pressure. By placing an index finger over the phone's camera, the technology utilizes photoplethysmography (PPG) to capture the user's blood-pulse waveform, which is then analyzed using signal processing and machine learning to determine blood pressure. This method aims to provide medical-grade accuracy without the need for a traditional blood pressure cuff, although the company currently provides an FDA-approved smart cuff to sync with the app.

The business model serves both healthcare providers and employers by offering a comprehensive care program. For patients, the platform provides a virtual care team that includes cardiologists, pharmacists, and health coaches who create personalized care plans and manage lifestyle modifications, medication, and lab work. This is designed to complement existing primary care, with monthly reports shared with the patient's primary doctors. For employers and benefit providers, Riva Health positions its service as a way to reduce preventable care costs and improve employee wellbeing. The company has engaged in partnerships with healthcare systems like the University of Colorado Health to validate and implement its technology.

Keywords: digital health, cardiovascular health, hypertension management, mobile cardiology, blood pressure monitoring, photoplethysmography, remote patient monitoring, digital therapeutics, healthtech, preventative care, virtual care team, mHealth, heart disease, clinical decision support, medical diagnostics, care management